Fusion: Metroid IV
by Liquid
Summary: After being brought to the edge of death by an unknown parasite, Samus Aran is reborn as something different. But when contact is lost with the facility housing samples of that same parasite, her investigation will become a fight to survive against an enemy more terrible than any she has faced before.
1. Chapter 1 SR388

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter One: SR388**

" _Cryo-circuits disengaged_." The ship's automated voice announced. " _Life-signs stable_."

One would think that spending long amounts of time in cryosleep would be a relaxing experience, but this was not the case as Samus Aran groggily stretched across her reclined pilot's seat. The thing about cryosleep was that it wasn't actually sleep; instead the subject's body functions were brought to such a low temperature and slowed down so much that they simply weren't aware of time passing around them. This also meant that there was no way for the body to actually rest, which was why Samus yawned so deeply while rubbing her eyes.

"What time is it?" She asked while adjusting the seat to make her sit up. "Are we there already?"

" _Affirmative_." The voice answered. " _The time is 0600, and we will arrive at planet SR388 in approximately twenty minutes_."

There were some throughout the galaxy, mostly Space Pirates, who believed that the _famous bounty hunter_ Samus Aran was an inhuman machine who was always alert, and ready to leap into battle at a moment's notice. These beings had obviously never seen her first thing in the morning, or else this theory would've been immediately debunked, since she had just as much difficulty getting out of bed as anyone else. In fact, if not for the coffee dispenser that she had installed into the wall near her seat, she would've probably just rolled over and went back to bed.

Unfortunately, she was there on business, so instead she had a cup of coffee, and put her long blonde hair up into its usual ponytail. Next she had to find her clothes, or rather, the ones that she wore underneath her Varia Suit. Hardly anyone ever actually saw her outside of what she wore during missions, which was probably why lots of people used to think she was a man, and yet Samus received almost endless criticism about her choice of attire. It consisted of a pair of boots to protect her feet, and a skin-tight blue bodysuit which never failed to draw the eyes of any men who were around… but honestly, the idea of trying to wear anything else underneath the Varia Suit was just… ignorant.

So she got dressed, and was just starting to enjoy her second cup of coffee, when she saw it. Through the front window of her ship, the green and brown landscape of planet SR388 was coming into view, and a thousand memories flew across her mind as the landing sequence was initiated. She remembered navigating her way through the labyrinths below the surface while on her hunt for any surviving Metroids, and the fear that came along with discovering each new stage in their lifecycle.

The ones that she had previously encountered on Zebes had actually been kind of cute… as far as life-sucking killers went… but the ones that lurked underground on their homeworld… not so much. The situation had been tense the first time she had seen one molt into what would later become known as an _Alpha_ Metroid, and even more so with the lightning-spitting _Gamma_ , but Samus had skillfully managed to overcome them. This had driven up her confidence, causing her to charge even deeper underground, and she would never tell anyone this, but she had nearly pissed herself during her first encounter with one of the massive _Omega_ Metroids.

But the Metroids were gone now. Defying all odds, she had just barely managed to kill what she believed was some kind of Metroid Queen, and that was it. Aside from a single newly hatched Metroid that came to believe that Samus was its mother, they were gone. In fact, so was the baby. Ridley, the flying leader of the Zebesian Space Pirates, had stolen it from the laboratory where Samus had left it, and led her on a chase through the underworld of Zebes… a chase which led to both Ridley's death… and the baby Metroid.

So what was she doing back on SR388? Now that Samus had defeated Mother Brain, the original leader of the Space Pirates, exterminated the Metroids, and finally ended her decade-long rivalry with Ridley, the galaxy was pretty quiet for a change. This led her to seek out less exciting contracts, such as providing a security escort for a research team. Apparently Biologics Space Laboratories, a scientific corporation that specialized in the story of unknown lifeforms, had taken an interest in this remote world. Their plan was to send in specialists to study both the native inhabitants, as well as the ancient Chozo ruins that Samus had discovered during her time there.

"Computer, bring up my contact's information." She said as the ship approached the upper atmosphere."

" _Affirmative_." The automated voice replied as a profile was displayed. " _Your contact for this mission is Dr. Richard Dolan; Professor of Xeno-biology, and leader of Biologics' initial survey team_."

He was cute for a scientist, and younger than she would've imagined for a prominent expert in alien life. Of course, when Samus was growing up, all of the scientists were members of the bird-like Chozo race, so it was kind of hard to expect anything else. Either way, she wasn't there for a social call; Biologics had specifically requested her, not because they expected any trouble, but because of the knowledge she possessed concerning both the layout of the caves, as well as the creatures that dwelled within.

" _Initiating landing sequence_." The automated voice said as the ship entered the planet's atmosphere. " _Activating Varia Suit_."

There was a low _hum_ of energy as an orange and yellow light began to form around her body, and then it appeared; the armored battle suit of Chozo origins that Samus had become known for. Like any other protective suit, the Varia allowed her to survive both under water as well as in outer space. However, it was capable of installing several weapons and upgrades, again mostly of Chozo design, and the suit's systems also integrated with her body on a biological level, granting her better control and faster reaction time than someone who was using another model.

Well, she was dressed and ready for action, the start of which appeared to be a small base camp in one of the mountain valleys. As her ship came in for a landing, she saw that the base camp was positioned near the entrance of a large cave, and then it hit her… this was the same place where she had landed during her first visit to the planet. It made sense if she was going to be the research team's guide, since it was a location that she was familiar with, and it also meant that it would be easy for her to protect them, provided that they stayed pretty close to the surface during the expedition.

The upper section of the main building's docking bay opened as the ship approached, and then closed again once she was through, allowing the bay to be purged of the planet's toxic atmosphere… well, toxic to _humans_ , anyway. The native inhabitants seemed to do just fine in it, but this was probably just one of the many mysteries that the research team was there to solve.

" _Landing sequence completed_." The automated voice said when the ship came to a stop and powered down. " _Welcome back to SR388_."

"Gosh, thanks." Samus replied with bubbly sarcasm before shaking her head. "Well, at least you don't say _'any objections, Lady?'_."

The loading ramp opened and lowered a few moments later, allowing her to exit the ship, coming down the ramp just as a group of what looked like scientists were coming out to meet her. There was no need for them to wear suits in there, since the docking bay was sealed, which made her feel a little awkward for wearing hers when it wasn't necessary, but still it was what people had come to expect.

"Ms. Aran, I'm glad you could make it." The obvious leader of the group said, offering his hand. "I'm Richard Dolan, Chief Researcher of the SR388 project, and this is my team. Thank you, from all of us, for taking this contract, and… I know that my team will be a lot safer with you around."

Instead of making a reply or shaking his hand right away, Samus reached up and slowly removed her helmet. Dr. Dolan was just as cute as in his profile, and even more so with the beard stubble that came from field work. Not that she was looking for a date or anything, it was just nice to know whether or not he found her attractive as well… signaled positively when his eyes widened a little upon seeing her face.

"Samus Aran." She replied, trying not to crush his hand with her suit when they shook hands. "Don't worry, _Richard_ , I'll keep your team safe, but SR388 is no controlled laboratory. Even with the Metroids gone, there are _a lot_ of nasty creatures down there, and the Chozo ruins are full of traps and sentry robots _that still work_ … so stay together, do what I tell you, and most importantly _don't wander off_ … and everything should be fine."

Although obviously intimidated by the seriousness of her warning, the research team was cooperative, and didn't seem the type to do anything rebellious. They had already been getting ready to begin the expedition, stopping work only to greet her, so the team resumed gathering their equipment, and Dr. Dolan did the same. Samus didn't want to hold up their progress, so she stayed in the docking bay with him while he did last minute checks on his equipment.

"You know, Samus, worked together before… indirectly." Dr. Dolan said while calibrating a sensor. "I designed the sensor unit that you used to home in on the Metroids during you're, um… _hunt_ here a few years ago."

Now that _did_ impress her. After all, that little wrist-mounted sensor had been instrumental in tracking down the Metroids, and more importantly, preventing them from ambushing her down in the deepest parts of the labyrinth. Suddenly feeling a rush of fear as she remembered the first time one of the lizard-like _Zeta_ Metroids had leapt at her from the darkness with claws outstretched, the flashback was stopped when Dr. Dolan finished his checks and opened a large cargo trunk.

"Where did you get that?" She asked, stepping forward and looking at it. "This… this looks _Chozo_."

"It _is_ Chozo." He explained, picking up the purple helmet. "Or at least, it's _based_ on their designs. I've spent a lot of time studying their ruins on Zebes, and other worlds, and this suit is my attempt to recreate their technology. It's only a prototype, and currently no better than the suits my team will be wearing, but someday I hope to solve the friction-loss problem and attain complete freedom of movement underwater."

Samus already had that function built into her Varia Suit, but as far as she knew, hers was the only one that worked. There had been several attempts by others to recreate Chozo technology, including a _disastrous_ effort by Space Pirates to recreate her Morph Ball function, but all had failed. She didn't believe that Dr. Dolan would be any more successful, but at least he had the design correct, although it was missing a beam canon when he put it on. By this time the rest of the team had gathered their equipment, and were assembling near the docking bay's loading ramp, meaning that it was time to get moving.

"All right, now remember to stay close to Ms. Aran." Dr. Dolan said once they joined the team. "SR388 is still listed as a hostile world, so stay together, and try not to disturb anything while you take scans. After you, Ms. Aran."

"Thank you, Doctor." Samus replied before putting her helmet back on. "Lower the ramp."


	2. Chapter 2 Unknown Lifeform

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Two: Unknown Lifeform**

"Remember to keep eyes on each other at all times." Samus said as she led the research team down the ramp. "Don't hesitate to start making noise if you see someone starting to fall behind, or if you start to, yourself."

It was a strange sensation to be standing on the surface of SR388 again after so much time had passed; the green sky just as beautiful as she remembered it, clashed against the brown mountainous landscape. There were a few strange looking plants sticking out of the rocks in random places, which the research team wasted no time getting scans of, but if it was plants they wanted, there were plenty down beneath the surface. Big viney ones that had thorns sharp enough to pierce even Samus's Varia Suit.

Honestly, she didn't plan on taking them any deeper into the labyrinth than the chamber where she had encountered her very first Alpha Metroid, at least not on _this_ trip. Including Dr. Dolan, there were only five of them on the research team, and they were ill-equipped to handle the larger creatures that inhabited the planet, let alone the automated defenses that still protected the Chozo ruins. Of course, this was likely just the first of many expeditions to study the planet, so maybe in a few years they would even make it as far down as the ruined Hydro Station.

For now, though, they would have to be content with barely scratching the surface, but on the bright side, there would be plenty of critters for them to scan and study to their heart's content. Of course, in order to get to those critters, they would have to enter the cave, and as Samus looked at the familiar outline of the darkened entrance, even more memories raced through her mind. It was exactly the same as it had been when she had stood in front of it a few years ago, and given the fact that she had blindly rushed inside like a moron, Samus was lucky to still be alive.

"Well, there it is." She said as Dr. Dolan joined her in looking at the cave. "The terrain can be treacherous, and even though the creatures are pretty small this close to the surface, that doesn't mean you're not on the menu. Feel like being _brave_ , and going in _first_ , Doctor?"

"Not at all, Ms. Aran." He replied, turning to look at her. "Besides, I get a _much_ better view when you walk in front of me."

Samus was glad that the green visor was there to distort her face, so that Dr. Dolan couldn't see her blush a little from such a brazen comment. Most men that she encountered, aside from fellow bounty hunters, were too intimidated by her Varia Suit and reputation to say anything even _remotely_ flirtatious to her, but Richard Dolan didn't appear to give a damn about either. It was kind of refreshing, since after all, what woman didn't like to be told she was pretty? It also lightened the serious mood of the current situation for a moment, but the tension came back once the rest of the team had finished with scanning the surface plants.

"Okay, everyone, line up into two columns of three." She ordered. "The terrain can be unstable, and there's less chance of someone falling to their death if we all walk on the same path."

Sure, this warning probably scared them as they walked through the cave's entrance, but it was the truth. This whole labyrinth was located between two tectonic plates, and there had been more than a few times during her _hunt,_ as Dr. Dolan called it, where the ground had suddenly fallen out from under her. This fear was apparently forgotten, however, when they had moved far enough into the cave to see the first creatures.

They were small, just kind of flying back and forth for no reason… no, there was always a reason for when creatures did anything at all, but Samus had never bothered to learn it, nor even the names of the creatures themselves… if they had even been given one yet. The scientists, however, immediately became excited, and had to be reminded by Dr. Dolan that they weren't to disturb anything while getting scans. Since most of the scientists that she had encountered were stuffy old men, or stuffy old Chozo, it was strange to see this kind of behavior from them; more like children on a field trip to the zoo than prominent scientists.

"There's such a diverse population here." Dr. Dolan said while taking scans of his own. "It's a shame you weren't able to get more detailed scans of the ones you saw toward the bottom of the cave system."

"Yeah, well I probably could've." She replied, constantly turning to see each team member. "But I was a little busy shooting them, because, you know, they were trying to _eat_ me."

He laughed a little at her response, and Samus found herself having the same reaction as she led the team onward. The flying and crawling creatures barely even reacted to their presence as they reached the first shaft, but she still kept a close eye on them while the researchers took their time descending to the next level of the cave system. She didn't mind that it was taking so long, since blindly running and jumping into unfamiliar terrain had caused Samus to take more than a few embarrassing foot injuries in the past. After all, there was nothing worse than managing to fight off a Zeta Metroid or something, only to roll your ankle tripping over some little bug-thing on the ground.

"Each level of the labyrinth gets a little more dangerous." Samus explained once everyone had reached the bottom of the shaft. "I don't believe that your team is outfitted to travel any further down than this, but there are _plenty_ of creatures in this area for you to study."

"Don't worry, Ms. Aran, my team are professionals." Dr. Dolan replied. "We may be a little excited, but we'll follow your lead, and besides… even coming _this far_ is more than anyone else has done… besides you, I mean… and the Chozo, apparently. Either way, we can go deeper next time."

She was glad to have their continued cooperation, since she knew how eager the team was to explore SR388. It was probably a good idea to leave out the fact that there was a ruined Chozo temple just one level down, but maybe Samus could distract them by showing them the place where she first encountered a molted Metroid. So she led them west, away from the next shaft, and it was down this tunnel that the very first threat to the expedition was encountered. It was nothing serious, just one of those larger hopping, frog-looking things that were more of an annoyance than anything.

"Stand back, boys." She said, smirking at Dr. Dolan before stepping toward the creature. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Smirking again when she realized how intently the whole research team was now watching her, Samus decided that there was no harm in giving them a bit of a show, and opened the barrel of her beam canon so that the missile function could be accessed. Sure, it was a bit of an overkill to use the explosive weapon in this case, but for some reason she felt the urge to look impressive for him, er, _them_. Impressive for the _team_ , not _just_ Richard Dolan.

Clearing her throat, and refocusing her thoughts on the creature up ahead, Samus aimed and fired, making a trail of smoke as one of her small missiles flew toward it. However, the creature leapt up into the air at the last second, causing a small spray of rocks when the missile struck the nearby cave wall instead. Re-aiming quickly, she fired again, and this time the missile struck the creature while it was still in the air, making it vanish in the small explosion that followed.

The research team made impressed gasps behind her, making Samus smirk again as the smoke cleared… but then her smirk faded as she realized that the creature was still there. No, not the hopping creature, but a strange kind of… brown transparent… jelly-looking thing that was just sort of… floating there. It's body, or whatever, was constantly shifting around as if being affected by the air currents, but other than that it was just hovering there.

"What's that?" Dr. Dolan asked as he started taking scans. "Some kind of big… amoeba?"

"I don't know." She replied honestly. "I've never seen… _look out!_ "

Suddenly the floating organism came flying toward them, and Samus responded by firing another missile. The weapon was slowed down as it passed right through its transparent body, causing the missile fall to the floor and explode, while the organism was knocked off course. It floated sideways for a second, but then shot toward Samus even faster than it had before, and as embarrassing as it was for her, she couldn't help letting out a surprised shriek when it collided with the chest of her Varia Suit.

Spinning around and smacking at her chest in an effort to remove the gelatinous creature, she was dimly aware of hearing a _clang_ when her beam canon struck the helmet of Dr. Dolan's own suit, knocking him down. She continued to spin, grabbing and smacking at every part of her suit that she could reach, but instead of feeling its jelly-like body, the organism was just… gone. But where? It wasn't lying on the ground, nor could it be seen floating around the chamber anywhere… so where had it gone?

"Dr. Dolan!" Samus exclaimed, kneeling down to help him sit up once she realized what she had done. "Dr. Dolan, are you all right?!"

"Yes, I think so." He replied, looking up at her through his visor. "More startled than anything… but hey, at least we now know that my suit's armor plating works, right?"

She was glad to have not injured him, and gave Dr. Dolan her hand to help him to his feet, but what was really on her mind was where that strange organism had gotten to. Maybe it had some kind of chameleon properties that allowed it to blend in with the colors of the cave… or maybe her spinning and screaming had simply scared it off. Whatever the case, it was agreed by all of them that there had been both enough data collection and excitement for their first expedition.

So they left the chamber, heading back to the upward shaft, but as the members of the research team started back toward the planet's surface, Samus stopped in order to take one last look back to see if that strange organism had reappeared. It hadn't, and there was only an empty cave behind them as she also started back toward the surface.

Where the hell had that thing gone?


	3. Chapter 3 Medical Emergency

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Three: Medical Emergency**

The task of following the research team back out of the cave system was a lot less stressful than it had been to lead them in, and even though this escort had been a relatively simple task, Samus still let out a sigh of relief once everyone was back on the surface. All of the scientists were accounted for, and everything had gone smoothly, aside from her embarrassing reaction to that gelatinous organism… hopefully everyone would just forget about that.

Her assignment was for a six month period of escorting the team on daily excursions into the planet's cave system, with hopefully more progress being made each time. However, as she and the team walked back across the surface toward the base camp, Samus was feeling a lot more stressed out and fatigued than she was used to. Maybe it was all the memories of her previous visit to SR388, or perhaps the cooling unit in her Varia Suit was malfunctioning again, because her body was feeling a bit sluggish, and there was sweat building up on her forehead as if she had been fighting with Ridley all day.

"Make sure to re-check all equipment before you put it away." Dr. Dolan said as they walked back up the loading ramp. "And I know you all want to start reviewing your findings right away, but don't forget to upload a copy of all your scans into Biologics' system."

It was funny to think that a group of prominent scientists would have to be reminded about following company procedure, but then again these people were the first since the Chozo to make an in-depth study of the planet, so she could see why they would be overly-excited. So once the bay was sealed and pressurized, the rest of the team removed and checked their suits, and did the same with the rest of their equipment, before rushing off to start cataloging, or… whatever it was that they did with their data after collecting it.

This left Samus and Dr. Dolan alone in the landing bay, since it took him longer to analyze his prototype Chozo suit after removing it. The other scientists had taken his scanners away to upload the data to Biologics, so he took his time in going over every system, and even though it only had a few features, maybe someday the purple colored suit would be perfected. Honestly, though, this was not what was currently on Samus' mind, so she removed her helmet, feeling the slightly cooler air hit her face as she approached him.

"Dr. Dolan." She said a little nervously. "I want to… no, I _need_ to apologize to you for what happened in the caves today. I guess that strange creature just kind of, you know, freaked me out, and… and I am _so_ sorry that I hit you with my canon. You weren't hurt or anything, were you?"

"No, Ms. Aran, I'm fine." He replied, turning to face her. "The suit protected my head, but between you and me… I probably would've reacted to that thing the same way _you_ did. Hell, the only reason I didn't scream, myself, was because you knocked me on my ass before I could."

She chuckled at the sudden visual that flashed through her mind, of Dr. Dolan shrieking as he leapt into one of the other scientists' arms, but then her laughter stopped when he stepped forward and put his hand on her forehead. His skin was really cold to the touch, causing Samus to let out a loud sigh of relief, and even more so when he touched her cheek in the same way, followed by the back of her neck.

"Ms. Aran, are you feeling all right?" He asked, touching each spot a second time. "You're a bit clammy, and you're sweating so much that your hair is matted down. I think you're dehydrated, and… and I can feel more heat coming from inside your suit… did your cooling unit stop working? Samus, you should have said something."

"I'm sorry." Samus replied. "I didn't notice it until we were almost all the way back here."

Instead of scolding her further, Dr. Dolan had her sit down on a nearby bench, and then left the bay, returning a short time later with a large cup of water. She felt like a child, the way he was suddenly taking care of her, but the water was just what she needed, even though it wasn't cold. With as warm as she was, giving her something too cold could have put her into shock, and as much as she wanted to gulp the liquid down as fast as she could, he only let her take small sips at a time until it was gone.

"Thank you." Samus said, setting the cup down. "I feel a little better now."

She was still thirsty, which Dr. Dolan took as a good sign, so he got her some more water, and again only allowed her to take little sips at a time. Samus still felt really warm, but the water was at least making her head hurt a little bit less, and she wouldn't come out and say this, but she didn't exactly mind getting all this extra attention from him.

"I'm glad that helped." He replied, putting his hand on her forehead again. "Look, I have to go up to the orbiting station to give my report in a little while, so why don't you follow me in your ship, and then we can get your cooling unit looked at. Of course it might take some time to fix, you know, depending on what's wrong, so… do you think you would like to, maybe… have dinner with me tonight?"

"Dinner?" She asked, looking up at him. "Are you asking me out on a _date_ , doctor?"

Now it was Dr. Dolan's turn to blush a little, and he immediately began stammering about how _asking her was probably inappropriate_ , and after a few apologies, admitted that _he_ _had never_ _been good at talking to women_. Apparently for men, it was far easier to flirt than to actually say when they liked someone, and as flattering as it was for Samus to get him all flustered, it was time to put it to a stop.

"I'd love to, Richard." She interrupted with a smile. "But we need to get up to the station soon, because I'm _dying_ in this suit."

Dr. Dolan smiled back, seemingly astonished that she would want to go on a date with him, but then Samus had reminded him about her suit, and he rushed to get what he needed for his report while she prepped her own ship for takeoff. She couldn't wait to get out of the Varia Suit, but since it needed to be worked on, she would have to take it off manually, which took a lot more work than just vanishing it into digital storage.

Her _date_ for the evening moved as fast as he could, loading his things inside of a much smaller shuttle-pod, and then remotely opening the top of the docking bay so that they could both take off. She let him go first, mostly since he had the coordinates and access codes to get them into Biologics' orbiting station, and then her own engines fired, allowing her to follow a couple seconds later.

" _Don't worry, the station is pretty close_." Dr. Dolan's voice said over the radio. " _How are you doing back there, Samus?_ "

"Doing okay so far." She answered as they headed toward the upper atmosphere. "My head is hurting again, but I'll be all right."

It felt nice to leave SR388 again, even if it was only for a short time, and with as bad as Samus's head was hurting now, she was glad to have him flying close by in case anything happened. Soon they were back in space, leaving the green and brown planet behind as Dr. Dolan led her toward the nearby asteroid belt, and that was when she got her first look at the station.

It seemed to have been built inside and around a giant asteroid, with a man-made docking ring sticking out of the top, but that was all she had time to look at before it was time to adjust course. So she reached for the button to begin the docking sequence, when her hand started shaking. It was just a tremor at first, but quickly became a full-out muscle spasm that started to hurt as if she were trying to move a limb that had fallen asleep.

Leaning forward to hit the button with her other hand, Samus suddenly felt so dizzy that her vision blurred for a second, making her miss the button. Then she started to feel nauseous, followed by a feeling of sickness in her stomach so intense, then she wretched twice before vomiting inside her helmet. But it wasn't normal vomit; it was a familiar looking transparent-brown substance that was now sticking to her visor, and her body tried to vomit up more, but it felt like there was still more stuck inside her throat, choking her as she fell back in the chair.

" _Samus, you need to start the docking sequence_." Dr. Dolan's voice said. " _Samus, you're starting going right past the station, are you okay? Samus, answer me?! Are you all right?!_ "

She wanted to answer him, and scream for help, but could only manage a few gurgling noises as she desperately fought for breath. Her heart was racing, and now her whole body was starting to convulse as more of the gelatinous substance leaked out of her mouth. At this point Samus's vision was so blurred, and she was so dizzy that she wouldn't have been able to fine the button to correct her course, even if she had been able to move her body.

" _Samus, you're heading toward the asteroid field_!" Dr. Dolan's voice yelled as alarms started going off within the ship, announcing both her erratic life signs and the imminent crash. " _What is that? What did it just say about your life signs?! Hold on, Samus, I'm gonna try and tractor you in!_ "

Her gurgling attempts to take a breath were slowly getting weaker, but the convulsions were getting worse, as was the amount of frightened tears that were now running down her cheeks. For a second she was tilted forward as the ship suddenly slowed down, but then it must've regained speed, because she was thrown back into the chair a second later. Now her vision was starting to darken, but her next attempt to take a breath only caused more of that substance to be sprayed onto the inside of her helmet.

" _Your ship is too big, I can't tractor you on my own!_ " Dr. Dolan's voice exclaimed. " _Dolan to B.S.L. Station; Medical Emergency! Dispatch a retrieval craft to intercept Samus Aran's ship, now!_ "

It sounded like there was some kind of reply that came over the radio a second later, but Samus couldn't understand it, nor could she move or see anything else as she gurgled one more time before losing consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4 Treatment Log

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Four: Treatment Log**

TREATMENT LOG/BEGIN

CASE#: 199485726947

PATIENT: Aran, Samus

ATTENDING PHYSICIAN: Dr. Dolan, Richard

LOCATION: Biologics Space Laboratories Orbital Station, Planet SR388

AMENDED LOCATION: San Matilda Hospital, Galactic Federation HQ

PHYSICIAN'S NOTE:

Due to the extreme circumstances, and unknown factors surrounding this case, I have been selected as the Primary Physician in the treatment of the Patient. As she is currently unable to consent to treatment, nor able to waive Biologics of any liability, per Galactic Law I hereby take full and singular responsibility for any repercussions resulting from this course of treatment.

ENTRY 1:

The patient had apparently lost consciousness during space flight, and was found adrift in an emergency pod, which her ship's automated systems apparently jettisoned just before the ship itself was destroyed upon entry into SR388's Asteroid Belt. Full quarantine procedures were initiated, per Standard Operating Order #7, and no risk to the station's crew could be detected.

When brought in, a transparent-brown substance was found to be leaking out from the inside of the Patient's Varia Suit, as well as occupying a significant portion of the helmet's interior. Due to its Chozo design, the suit had become integrated with the Patient's body on a biological level, and therefore I authorized those portions of the suit to be surgically removed. These 'infected' pieces were then immediately transferred into the station's Quarantine Bay.

The removal of the Patient's suit was a success, however, upon its removal, it was discovered that the transparent organism, which I have confirmed through data comparison was the same organism encountered by the research team on SR388, was not only coming from the Varia Suit, but also seeping out through all of the Patient's orifices. Internal scans revealed that the organism was present throughout her entire body, as well as imbedded within the Patient's Central Nervous System.

PHYSICIAN'S [ENCRIPTED] NOTE:

Oh, Samus, how could I be so _stupid_? Why couldn't I see what was happening to you before? It was because I wanted you, that's why I thought you were dehydrated, when you were really sick. I'm _so_ sorry, Samus, and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I'll fix this. I promise you that I will not eat, sleep, or rest at all until I find a way to save you.

ENTRY 2:

Study of the organism, which I have temporarily designated as 'X' until a more suitable name can be found, revealed that the organism is parasitic in nature. Not only has it flooded the Patient's body, but it also appeared to be feeding off of her as well, prompting me to place the Patient into cryosleep while a further study of the organism was conducted.

However, although the organism's progress has been slowed, it appeared to still be active, even during cryosleep. This organism is incredibly strong and adaptable, leading me to conclude that this station's facilities are not equipped to handle this problem. Therefore, I decided to take Patient to a hospital at Galactic Federation HQ.

The organism continued to remain active during transport, and with its constant feeding on her body and Nervous System, I found myself wondering that even if I managed to save her, what kind of permanent damage would be done? Would she still be the same Samus Aran when she woke up? Would she even remember her name?

PHYSICIAN'S [ENCRIPTED] NOTE:

I'm glad that you get to sleep through most of this, Samus. I know you probably can't hear me, but we're on our way to a better facility where I'll be able to find a cure, I just know it. I just hope that you're still you if… no, not if, _when_ you wake up. I hope that you remember who you are, as well as who _I_ am… but… even if you forget all about me, I can live with that as long as you survive.

ENTRY 3:

The 'X Parasite' continued to be resistant, even to the modern equipment at Galactic Federation HQ. Radiation, extreme cold, extreme heat, Chemotherapy, Anti-biotics, all were tried, and all failed to even weaken the organism. Photo-exposure, Nocturnal-therapy, and even direct removal with a laser scalpel, only on the bodily portions of course, also proved ineffective.

With all other possible treatments exhausted, I decided to try something bold. It was a long shot, and took a lot of convincing for the Federation to authorize, but I was allowed to use one of the original cell cultures from the infant Metroid found on SR388 for an attempt at creating a cure.

Processing of the Metroid's cells into a workable vaccine was surprisingly easy, and I could hardly contain my excitement at the results that occurred only minutes after injecting the Patient. The Metroid cells spread throughout her body even more quickly than I believed possible, and not only did they immediately attack the X, but they did not stop until every last detectable cell of the Parasite was destroyed.

PHYSICIAN'S [ENCRYPTED] NOTE:

I did it, Samus. I found a way to kill the X Parasite, and it looks like you're going to be okay now. I had to, um, do a few, uh, less than legal things to do it, and I may very well be going to prison for a _really_ long time if anyone figures it out, but I can live with that. I can't wait for you to wake up.

ENTRY 4:

Something incredible has happened. Not only did the Metroid cells completely purge the X Parasites from her body, but they have also been healing and regenerating the damage to the Patient's body and Central Nervous System. Her breathing and vital signs have returned to almost completely normal, but I yet have a concern. Scans of the Patient's DNA confirmed that it had been mutated slightly by the Metroid Vaccine, but the extent and effects of this mutation will not become known until the Patient regains consciousness.

PHYSICIAN'S [ENCRYPTED] NOTE:

Oh God, what have I done? The Metroid vaccine is healing you, Samus, but something isn't right. Your core temperature is down almost ten degrees, but your body has almost completely regenerated… your hair even all grew back after the Chemotherapy, just as long and blonde as before. But are you still… you? Please wake up soon, Samus… please.

TREATMENT LOG/END

AMENDED ATTACHMENT FOR [ERROR CODE 5] REVIEW

FLIING AND CLASSIFICATION LEVEL: [ERROR CODE 5]

TRANSCRIPT LOG DATE: [ERROR CODE 5]

FOR AUTHORIZED VIEWING ONLY

DESTROY AFTER VIEWING

LOG/BEGIN

[ERROR CODE 5]: Dolan, how _dare_ you forge an authorization to bring a Metroid cell culture outside of the lab? Do you have any idea how many laws you just broke? Or what could have happened to all of us?

DOLAN, RICHARD: Yes, Sir. I am in direct violation of fifteen Federation Laws. But Samus was dying, and as a doctor, I must do anything it takes to preserve the life of a Patient.

[ERROR CODE 5]: If this were under any other circumstances, I would have you shot for this. However, apparently you're the luckiest son of a bitch alive, because we need further study on this 'X Parasite' of yours… as well on how well the bounty hunter's treatment worked. So here are your new orders: You will evaluate the girl once she wakes up, and then you will return to the SR388 station, where you will spend the rest of your worthless life learning all there is to know about these X things. Got it?

DOLAN, RICHARD: Yes, Sir.

[ERROR CODE 5]: Good… you know, there's a lot of people here who want to give you the Nobel Peace Prize for what you've done… but I promise you, Dolan… if you ever even think of pulling another stunt like this again, you'll be accepting the award _Post-Humorously_ , if you get my meaning. Now get out of my sight.

LOG/END


	5. Chapter 5 Reborn

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Five: Reborn**

For a while there was only darkness… a kind of peaceful oblivion with no sounds or other stimuli… and then the light returned. It was subtle and small at first, as if looking at a single star in the sky, but it got bigger… slowly the light became larger and brighter until it filled up everything that could be seen. Along with this light came the return of muffled sounds, and an intense feeling of cold that nearly drowned out the soreness that was in the background as Samus Aran's eyes slowly opened.

"Huh?" A blurry figure that was standing near her said. "You're awake? Dr. Dolan! Dr. Dolan, she's waking up!"

The blurry figure quickly moved across the equally blurry room until it could no longer be seen, and Samus tried to lift her arm to rub her eyes, but was stopped when a sudden feeling of pins and needles shot through her body, and if the whole thing had fallen asleep. Involuntarily groaning from the pain, she shut her eyes tightly while the feeling continued. She also made an attempt to call for help, but only managed to cough hoarsely.

The last thing Samus remembered was following Dr. Dolan's shuttle-pod up from SR388, on the way to the orbital station… and then something happened… she remembered pain… and a feeling of suffocation. She knew that whatever had happened to her, it must have been terrifying, judging by how scared she suddenly felt just trying to remember it… but what had happened then? How had she gotten off of her ship, and… and where was she now?

Opening her eyes again, Samus noticed that her vision was slowly starting to come into focus, but everything was _really_ bright. The noise around her was less muffled as well, allowing her to recognize the sound of footsteps approaching, until two more figures came into view. They walked over to her, quickly asking if she could hear them, before one of them shined a bright light into her eyes for a second. Then she felt something really warm and soothing touch her forehead, making her relax a little.

"Just relax, Samus, you're safe now." The figure with the light said. "Nurse, get me two CC's of Adrenaline."

"Yes, Doctor." The other figure replied before moving to the other side of the room.

She came back a few seconds later, handing something to the one with the light, and then Samus felt a pinch in the side of her neck, followed by a quick hissing sound. The pinching feeling went away, and the two figures remained there while Samus's vision continued to come into focus at a much faster rate. As everything cleared up, she was able to see that she was lying on some kind of small bed, and everything about the room around her, from the sterile white colors, to the monitors along the walls, screamed _hospital_.

"What happened?" She asked weakly. "Is this the orbital station?"

"No, we're at Galactic Federation HQ." The figure, who she could now identify as Dr. Dolan replied. "I had you brought here for treatment, but you're going to be all right, now. How do you feel, Samus?"

With her vision and hearing almost completely clear now, Samus could see that not only was this some kind of hospital room, but that there were no windows, and only a reinforced pressure-door to get in or out. This was a _Quarantine chamber_ , used for excessively contagious or violent criminals who needed treatment before being taken to prison. The good news was that she wasn't handcuffed to the bed, so no one had arrested her, but obviously she was in there for _something_.

"I'm cold." She answered, shivering a little while hugging herself. "I'm _really_ cold."

"That's to be expected." Dr. Dolan said, taking the folded up blanket from the end of the bed, and putting it around her. "Your body temperature is ten degrees lower than normal, and… I don't think it will be going up again any time soon."

This wasn't something that Samus was expecting to hear, and was naturally wanting an explanation, so Dr. Dolan ordered that the room temperature be raised five degrees before telling her what happened. He described the condition that she had been found in after being ejected from her ship, and having to surgically remove her Varia Suit, since most of it had been corrupted by the X Parasites.

"So… you destroyed my suit?" She asked, looking down at the hospital gown she was wearing. "And my clothes?"

"Your clothes had to be removed, since they were covered with X Parasites." He continued, clearly worried about how she would react. "And your Varia Suit is still functional, although I wouldn't exactly call it a _Varia_ anymore… it's more like a… frame?"

Dr. Dolan went on to explain how most of the suit's upgrades and features were corrupted, leaving her with little more than a sealed EV suit, and the most basic of Beam Canons. Apparently the thing couldn't even fire missiles anymore, let alone the increased leaping height that she had become accustomed to. He also promised to find her something to wear underneath it, and apologized several times for having to remove them.

"Richard, relax." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I know that you did it to save my life, and, honestly, you should feel honored. After all, not many men get the chance to see me naked."

He couldn't help laughing a little, and Samus even managed to crack a smile herself, lightening the gloomy mood of the place for a moment, and allowing her the first chance that she had to relax since landing on SR388.

"And _you_." Dr. Dolan replied, still chuckling. "I have to give you credit, Samus. I've seen women do some pretty _creative_ things to get out of going on a date with me, but this tops them _all_."

Now it was her turn to laugh as the visual of getting herself purposely infected by an unknown lifeform just to get out of a dinner date flashed through her head. Of course, she would have _much rather_ gone out with him than almost get killed, and lose most of her Varia Suit's latent abilities. But now that she was thinking about her current situation once again, the biggest question on Samus's mind was how he had saved her.

The answer was not one that she expected; using a cell culture from the Baby Metroid that she had found on SR388 after killing the Queen Metroid. The same Metroid that had sacrificed itself to save her in the final battle against the resurrected Mother Brain on Zebes, had apparently saved her life once again. Then Dr. Dolan explained how the Metroid cells had regenerated her body with their own DNA after killing the X Parasites, and this explained her lower body temperature, since Metroids were inherently vulnerable to cold, causing them to crave warm environments.

"I'm just glad you're alive, Samus." He continued, taking hold of her hands. "Now come on, let's see if we can get you on your feet."

She had no objections to this, since it was important to make sure that she could still do things like walking after what she had been through. So far, being cold was the only noticeable effect from the Metroid Vaccine, and at least Samus wasn't floating around or sucking the life energy out of people, which was a plus. As for walking, she got dizzy the moment she got out of bed, making everything bright again for a second until she could regain her balance.

"Doing okay?" He asked, holding her arms to steady her.

"I think so." Samus replied as the dizziness faded. "All right, let's give this a try."

Dr. Dolan slowly let go of her arms, and everything was going good as she took that first step, but then the dizziness returned the moment she tried to shift her weight to the other leg, making Samus gasp as she stumbled forward. Dr. Dolan was quick to catch her, but was also caught off guard, nearly making him fall backwards, himself. But he managed to keep his balance, although just barely, and leaving him bent a little backwards while holding her in a sort of awkward embrace.

"Yeah… maybe we should hold off on walking." He said with a strained voice while trying to stand up straight. "Let's get you back into bed."

Most of the dizziness had faded, so she could help keep balance, although her legs were still a little wobbly, feeling like they were partially still asleep. A few seconds later he helped her sit down on the edge of the bed, and Samus was trying to remember some of her Chozo training that would help with her legs, when her thoughts came to a screeching halt as Dr. Dolan suddenly leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.

"What was that for?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Because I like you." He replied. "And, like I said, I'm… just really happy that you pulled through. Any minute now, they're gonna realize that you're awake, and I'm getting sent back to SR388 the moment that I tell them you're stable."

Dr. Dolan went on to explain that he might have broken a couple laws in order to get the Metroid sample that saved her life, but this action was also the only thing that kept him out of prison or worse, because now he was the galaxy's leading expert on the X Parasites. Apparently for the past few days, something had been happening with some of the samples that had been stored on the BSL station, and his expertise was needed… and the way he was explaining it, that station was probably where he was going to spend the rest of his life.

"Yeah, it looks like banishment for me." He said, a little sadly. "But we still have today, right? We also need to make sure that you can keep food down, so how about I go to the galley real quick, and we can still have our dinner date right here?"

"That sounds nice." She replied with a smile.

He turned to walk away, but then Samus grabbed his arm, pulling him back while she stood up. For a second she got dizzy again, but held onto his shoulders until it passed, and then surprised Dr. Dolan by giving him a passionate kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?" He asked, a smile spreading across his face.

"It's because I like you." She replied, pushing back from him and sitting on the bed. "Now go get me some food, I'm starving."


	6. Chapter 6 Adam

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Six: Adam**

It had been nice to just sit down and have dinner with someone that she liked, and Samus found herself _liking_ Dr. Dolan more and more as they talked, and laughed, and shared a couple more, well… _intimate_ moments. However, all too quickly the night was over, and just as he had told her, Dr. Dolan was essentially _deported_ back to SR388 early the next morning. As for Samus, she was let out of quarantine a short time later, but was still having trouble moving around.

Thus began a month long program of exhausting physical therapy, and during this time she was slowly able to regain not only the ability to move around on her own, but also much of what she had been able to do before. During her childhood on the planet Zebes, the Chozo had taught her several meditation and natural healing techniques, and these certainly accelerated her recuperating process.

As for her lost clothes that she needed to wear under her Varia Suit, new ones were provided, but they were not quite the same. They were still blue and skin tight, but instead of a one-piece outfit, she was given basically a pair of short-shorts and a sports bra. Any more than this under the suit would just get in the way, but Samus didn't care for the way that the members of the hospital's staff, mostly the female members, were glaring at her when she walked around.

Now, as for her Varia Suit, itself… Dr. Dolan had not been exaggerating when he told her that it had been stripped down to the bare minimum. The blue-colored inner-most frame and air supply remained, which was good, since it would still protect her from underwater and vacuum environments. The beam canon itself was still there, but all of the upgrades and customizations that she had installed over the years were gone, leaving her with only the most simple of energy weapons at her disposal. Well… it was nice to be left with something, considering the circumstances, but the thing couldn't even fire _missiles_ anymore."

The mobility upgrades had been removed as well, reducing the agility and jumping height by more than half, but in response to her furious reaction, the man in charge of the armory where the suit had been stored, told her that it was possible to restore at least _some_ of its original functions over time. This was better news than she had expected, so Samus got into her Varia… wait, no… _Varia Suit_ no longer seemed appropriate, since it lacked even a single feature that would identify it as such, so a new name would have to be given.

"Well… up and about, I see." A man she had never seen before said as he walked into the room. "And getting used to your suit again… that's good… you're going to need it. Follow me, please, Ms. Aran."

The man left the room as quickly as he came in, without even waiting for a reply from her, leading Samus to follow him out into the hallway, if for nothing else, just to find out who he was. Of course, the man was elusive, saying the classic cliché lines like _'names aren't important'_ and so on. What he did say was important, though, was that he had a job for her, and even if she wasn't at a hundred percent, there was no one else available who could be trusted with it. So with her curiosity getting the better of her, she followed him into a small briefing room, where he seemed to have already prepared a briefing for her.

"As you know, this is the _Biologic Space Laboratories orbital station_." He began as it appeared on the monitor behind him. "This station is home to some of the most delicate, and also most _highly classified_ research materials and technology in the galaxy."

Samus wondered why this strange man would be going over all of this with her, since she had been at the station only a month before. It was probably some courier mission that he had for her; moving a sensitive piece of new technology from one lab to the next… but the good news about that was that if this new assignment took her to the BSL station again, it would give her a chance to visit Dr. Dolan.

"Three days ago." The man continued. "All contact was lost with the station. There is a high probability that this is simply due to a communications failure, but the very last transmission that we received from there… was a sensor report that registered a powerful explosion. Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to both investigate the cause of the communications failure, and to determine the status of the station and its crew."

For some reason when the man mentioned an explosion, Samus felt a nameless fear awaken in the pit of her stomach, and not because of concern for Richard Dolan. She was deeply concerned for him, but what she was feeling right then was something else… something that she was unable to explain. It was a terror the likes of which she had never experienced before, and yet it was familiar somehow.

"I'll do it." Samus replied quickly. "But, there is a small problem… my ship was destroyed in SR388's asteroid belt, so I have no way to get there."

"No problem there, Ms. Aran." He said calmly. "We are willing to provide you with a ship, but there is a condition involved in taking it. Due to the sensitive nature of this mission, we want one of our own there to make sure our interests are looked after, meaning that if you accept the mission, _Adam_ will be your CO."

Now, Samus was never one to enjoy taking orders, which was why she mostly took on solo missions. But something inside told her that this mission to the BSL station was important, so if she had to take orders from someone, she was fairly certain that she could deal with it. And of course, it was kind of funny that her new CO for this mission was named Adam, since she had once served under another one who was _also_ named Adam… but he was long dead.

"I'll accept the condition." She continued, still not happy with it. "When do I leave?"

"Immediately." The strange man answered. "The ship is already prepped and waiting for you on the docking ring. Best of luck."

And with that, the briefing was over; the strange man walking out of the room, only to have disappeared by the time that Samus got back into the hallway. Well, she had her assignment, and it had been killing her to be cooped up in that hospital for a month, so she wasted no time in heading toward the docking ring. The directory signs made everything easy to find, and after giving her name to the Flight Controller, she was pointed to the correct bay where her new ship was waiting.

It was in good condition, but the purple colored hull and low hanging wings were nothing like her old ship, and now she was starting to realize just how much she missed it. This new ship probably didn't even have a coffee dispenser, she thought as she walked around the back where the loading ramp was down, and now she had to share it with someone that she had been roped into taking orders from. However, upon entering the ship, she found that it was only built for one… and that no one else was there.

" _Hello, Samus_." A voice said, making her jump a little. " _Please, make yourself comfortable_."

A little uneasy as she moved up into the cockpit, and even more so when the ramp closed on its own, Samus sat down in the pilot's seat. Taking another look to see if anyone else was inside the ship, and then looking out the front window to see if anyone was in the bay, she was starting to wonder when this CO of hers was going to show up, when the ship suddenly began to pre-flight sequence on its own.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked, looking at the monitors. "Computer, I didn't tell you to start us up yet."

" _You don't have to, Samus_." The same voice from before replied. " _My name is Adam, and I'll be administrating your mission to the SR388 BSL station_."

For a second she was confused by this declaration, but then Samus sighed with irritation when she realized that she was expected to take orders from a computer. She had heard about these new advanced shipboard A.I.'s, and they were supposed to be almost as capable with decision making and reason as a person was, but that didn't mean that she wanted to be under the command of something that lacked actual emotion. No matter how impressive the newest computers were, they would never be able to replicate the gut-feelings and moral judgement that only real people were capable of.

" _I look forward to working with you, Samus_." Adam continued as the pre-flight sequence completed. " _We are now ready for takeoff, and the ship's controls are at your command_."

Well, at least she still got to pilot the ship on her own, and even though it was a newer model, the cockpit's design was fairly basic. This allowed her to very quickly familiarize herself with the controls, and after a quick spin around the docking bay to get a feel for how the ship moved, they were ready to go.

"Control, this is Samus Aran." She said after activating communications. "Requesting clearance for departure."

" _You are cleared for departure, Samus_." The male voice replied a moment later. " _Please keep your engine speed at zero while hanger bay doors are opening_."

This was the standard reply to a request to depart, and as the large slowly opened up to reveal outer space on the other side, Samus wondered if anyone had even been stupid enough to try and leave before they were opened all the way. A really funny visual then entered her mind, of some drunken pilot going full throttle in order to try and squeeze through the narrow opening, only to crash, or…

"Door opening sequence is complete." Adam said, interrupting her thoughts. "I've already plotted the fastest possible course for the SR388 system, so you may engage the engines when ready."

"Thanks for the tip, Adam." Samus replied sarcastically as she accelerated. "I'm so glad you're here."

The computer did not reply while the ship passed through the opened docking bay doors, and this was how Samus preferred their relationship to work as they moved away from Galactic Federation HQ.


	7. Chapter 7 BSL Station

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Seven: BSL Station**

The SR388 Solar system, named so since SR388 was the only planet orbiting its star, was a fairly short distance away from Galactic Federation HQ, meaning that Samus did not need to enter cryosleep. Instead she kept her new ship on manual control, preferring to fly the whole course herself instead of letting her new computerized CO take over. It wasn't that she didn't _trust_ the machine, it was just that she had never been comfortable with taking any orders beyond receiving an assignment.

Aside from what was necessary for them to reach SR388, they had hardly spoken a word to each other, and this was the way Samus preferred it. Now that she thought about it, the fact that they believed she even _needed_ supervision on this mission in the first place was kind of insulting. After all, she had been completely on her own during both missions to the planet Zebes, and she didn't recall anyone lending a hand during her first visit to SR388. In fact, it was the large groups of people who had been sent in _before_ her each time who had needed help.

So after a few hours of this awkward silence, Samus slowed down the ship just as it entered the desired system. The green and brown planet, where she now hoped never to set foot again, was nearby, and thankfully it was not where she was going this time. Instead, she was headed to the large orbiting space station, where she had once tried to follow Dr. Dolan… it would be nice to see him again once the communication problem was solved… and maybe this time they could go on a _real_ date, instead of just eating a quick meal before having s…

" _Samus, I must prepare for docking_." Adam's voice interrupted her thoughts as they approached. " _Contact the station, and request permission to come aboard_."

"I _have_ done this one or twice, you know." Samus replied before activating her comms. "BSL Station, this is Samus Aran, acting under the authority of the Galactic Federation. I have been sent here to determine your status, and request permission to dock."

The channel was open, but the only thing that greeted her was static, so she tried again on another commonly used frequency, but there was still nothing. This probably meant that their short-range communication system was down as well, meaning that there was a much more complicated problem than just a broken antenna or something. By this time they had reached the docking bay doors, but could only hold position for the moment.

" _Hmm… communications seem to be completely offline_." Adam commented as they floated there. " _I'm attempting to access the doors remotely… just a moment… strange… the doors are not responding to my codes. This only happens if the remote receiver has been damaged… or if someone locks it down on purpose_."

Well, that was _great_ , but regardless of which reason it was, it now appeared that Samus was going to have to go outside and open the doors manually. This was a fairly easy process, since it involved little more than throwing a switch, so she hooked up to a safety line, and Adam depressurized the ship before opening the loading ramp. The good news was that her weakened suit still protected her from the vacuum of space, but the still didn't mean that she had ever actually _enjoyed_ space-walking.

Once she had reached the station's hull next to the large doors, Samus opened the nearby emergency panel, and pulled the manual release lever. This caused spinning yellow lights to activate as the control mechanism began to spin. Adam reeled her back into the ship with the safety line, and once the loading ramp was closed, she ship repressurized. By this time the doors had opened all the way, allowing her to slowly fly the ship into the docking bay, and a few moments later they landed.

" _I'm having difficulty accessing the station's systems_." Adam said as the large doors closed behind the ship. " _Perform a sweep of the area, and see if you can find a Systems Station, where you can allow me direct access to the local network_."

Giving the computer a mock-salute while rolling her eyes, Samus waited for the docking bay to pressurize before using the loading ramp to leave. She didn't need it to be pressurized in order to walk around, but it would have to be for her to enter the station itself, so it was easier just to get it over with now. Once the pressurization sequence was complete, and the spinning lights around the doors shut down, she realized how dark the station was.

There were a few emergency lights on that were spaced around the bay, but they barely allowed Samus to see the shadowy outline of the objects around her. Other than that, it was as if someone had turned off all the lights, but thankfully her suit still came equipped with an infrared scanner, which let her use differences in heat to see what was in front of her. However, since the docking bay had just been exposed to space, everything was cold, meaning that she still had to fumble around in the dark.

"Adam, can you give me some light?" She asked, nearly tripping over a cargo crate. "I can't see where I'm going."

" _Yes, I can, Samus_." The computer replied. " _Stand by_."

Suddenly the ship's forward searchlights came on, flooding the bay with light, and allowing her to see her way to the door up ahead. So doing a halfway polite wave back to the ship as a gesture of thanks without actually looking back, Samus made her way up to the door, and had to manually shoulder it open, since once again there was no power going. She now no longer had the lights from the ship to guide her, but this new area, a bridge between the docking bay and the station, was already illuminated.

Through the many windows, the light reflecting off of the nearby planet allowed her see until she was across the bridge, but upon passing through the next door, Samus once again found herself in darkness. This time, however, the environmental systems still seemed to be working, allowing her infrared scanner to distinguish just about everything in the room. Of course, what she _didn't_ see were any people. There were soda machines, furniture, and the like around as if this were some kind of a common area, but where the hell was everybody?

"Adam, something's wrong here." She said, doing a full spin to look around. "I'm in some kind of recreation area, but no one's around, and I'm seeing signs of damage on the walls… wait, it's not just the walls… there's what looks like _plasma burns_ on the machines and floor. What the hell happened in here?"

" _Hard to tell, based on such limited information_." Adam replied. " _Still, this doesn't bode well… continue on your search for a Systems Station, and I'll call up as much information as I can from the station's logs once you connect me there. And Samus… in case you run into trouble, remember that you are only at an estimated ten percent of your former abilities… so be careful_."

The computer didn't need to remind her of just how weakened she had become, due to the X Parasites, as well as Dr. Dolan's surgical attempts to save her life. Samus was grateful to be alive and everything, but it was still pretty unnerving to know just how vulnerable she now was to things that couldn't have even touched her before. Energy weapons, corrosive liquids, and even extreme temperatures could probably destroy her right then… not to mention her new susceptibility to cold, thanks to the Metroid Vaccine.

Keeping her simple energy beam ready in case whoever was responsible for all the damage decided to show themselves, Samus slowly continued on through the common area, which was now looking more like a flight terminal. This made sense, due to how close it was to the docking bay, but no one had jumped out or taken a shot at her by the time she had moved all the way across. There were two doors that led out of this area, one that looked just like the last one, but the one on the left had a sign next to it, that when she squinted in the nearby emergency lighting read:

 _SYSTEMS STATION_

 _DOCKING BAY/QUARANTINE LABS_

"I found it, Adam." Samus reported as she forced open the door. "But it doesn't look like there's any power going to the station itself."

" _Not a problem, Samus_." The computer's voice replied as she entered the small, dark room. " _This BSL station is a newer model, and recently developed safety features require that all critical systems come equipped with self-contained emergency generators. Simply go to the main console, and then feel around the back for a medium sized panel_."

Samus had not been aware of any such emergency systems being implemented, not that she was always on top of the latest technology, so she reached around back of the console, and sure enough there was a panel. It opened when she pushed it, and inside there seemed to be a small crank. There was resistance when she started turning it, as well as a low whirr that could be heard. Slowly a series of indicator lights lit up as she continued cranking it, and as soon as the last one was on, a large button on top of the console started blinking.

When it was pushed, the console came to life; all of the controls and monitors flickering on as if power had always been supplied. This also allowed her to use her suit's direct interface, which thankfully still worked as well, to connect Adam to the local system. Once the connection was made, a large monitor on the back wall came to life, mapping out the local area, and calling up recent system data.

" _I'm showing all systems normal until about three days ago_." Adam explained as lots of random data flew across the screen. " _Apparently there was a sizable explosion that originated from the Quarantine Bay, and caused errors to generate in this, as well as neighboring local networks_. _I believe this is where you should begin your investigation_."

"All right, I'll head there then." Samus replied, moving toward the door. "Just alert me if your sensors detect anything coming at me, okay?"

Adam reassured her that he would do his best, and that there was also a lot of other data, research logs and other things that needed to be sorted through, but that wasn't Samus's concern. Her concern was finding out what the hell happened on this station, and more importantly, where was the staff? The answers, or at least the start of them, were waiting for her in the Quarantine Bay, so she left the Systems Station, and then entered the other door that led out of the recreation area.


	8. Chapter 8 Quarantine

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Eight: Quarantine**

Samus had hoped that once Adam had been connected to the local network, that he would have been able to restore power, or at least _partial_ power to the area. However, this was apparently not the case, so she was forced to continue relying on her infrared scanner. The _Quarantine_ section of the station was pretty easy to find, since by Federation law they had to be located near the docking bay of any station, in order to quickly secure foreign substances… well, that and the large painted sign above the next door that read:

 _QUARANTINE FACILITY_

 _AUTHORIZED/ATTENDED PERSONNEL ONLY_

"Adam, I'm at the entrance to Quarantine." Samus reported as she tried the door. "But there's still no power going, and I don't think my beam is quite up to the task."

" _I have been trying to access the emergency systems, Samus_." The computer replied. " _For the moment, main power is not an option, and the auxiliary power access controls are so badly corrupted and fragmented that I would almost think it was done on purpose. Whoever would want a station like this to be without power is beyond me, but I believe I can call up the emergency batteries to get power to some of the doors_."

Nothing happened for almost a minute, leaving Samus alone in the silent corridor. She was just about to start searching for another way into Quarantine, like a maintenance hatch or something, when a sudden _beep_ made her jump a little as the indicator light above the door came on. A moment later there was a hard _click_ as the locking mechanism unlatched, allowing her to easily push the door open.

" _That's the best I can do, Samus_." Adam's voice continued. " _I was trying to do more, but some kind of hidden firewall must've activated, because I can no longer access the doors, even through emergency power. Nevertheless, you now have access to the Quarantine Facility… I will continue my efforts on this end while you investigate._ "

It made sense that a station like this would have all kinds of security measures to protect its research and staff, so Samus was happy that Adam was able to unlock as much of it as he did. So she continued on into the next darkened hall, but stopped in her tracks after seeing the condition of the place. There were scorch marks along the walls and floor, along with impact… _craters_ … that looked as if someone had just started shooting up the place with a high-yield weapon.

"Oh, no." Samus said, moving toward the next thing she saw. "Adam, we've got casualties."

At first her infrared scanner almost didn't register it since the temperature was so similar to that of the floor itself, but when Samus got closer, and kneeled down to get a better look, she was able to confirm that it was a body. It must've been a member of the research staff, since it was wearing a white lab-coat, but other than the mostly intact clothes, there really wasn't much left. Most of what she could recognize were bones, but just about all of the muscle tissue and flesh was just _gone_.

" _This is certainly a disturbing development, Samus_." Adam's voice said once she described it to him. " _Is this the only one, or are there others?_ "

"No, there's others." She replied, looking around. "But it's strange… some of them are a lot more intact, but look like they've been shot, instead of… _whatever_ happened to the deteriorated ones."

Samus wondered if this was all somehow the result of the strange explosion that the computers registered three days ago, but she wasn't going to learn anything more if she stayed where she was. Most of the directory signs on the walls had been destroyed during the chaos that must've erupted there, so she decided to just pick the first door she came to, and check it out. However, when she got up and opened the nearest door, her infrared scanner went completely black.

There was a rush of powerful wind that came along with the blackness, but she didn't need the scanner in order to see that it was cold. So cold, in fact, that it seemed to blow right through her suit, making Samus scream as a result of the gripping pain that came with it. She tried to back away, but found that her legs weren't responding, and her arms only made it about halfway through her attempt to wrap them around herself, before they stopped responding as well.

Never in her life had Samus felt an agony like this one; it was as if she were slowly being frozen alive, and now she found that she was no longer able to even scream or call for help. Out of mostly panic, she tried to force her body to respond, succeeding only in causing herself to rock back and forth. The pain was getting worse all the time, and now she was starting to get tired as well, but the last attempt she made to move made her actually fall backwards so that the top half of her body was out of the chilling wind.

Her legs still felt like they were frozen, but now the feeling in her arms and chest was slowly coming back, allowing Samus to drag herself out of the cold, and past the open door. It took a lot of effort, and a few tries, but she managed to push the door shut, blocking the wind, and allowing the feeling to start coming back to the rest of her body.

" _Samus, are you all right?_ " Adam's voice asked. " _Samus, can you hear me? What is your status?_ "

"Cold!" She yelled, getting into a fetal position to keep warm. "Cold… oh, God… so cold!"

The feeling was coming back more quickly now, and the pain was almost gone, but Samus doubted that she would ever in her life forget how that felt. The worst part, even beyond the pain, was how helpless she had felt, and now it made her wonder… if what happened was a result of the Metroid Vaccine, then was this how all of those Metroids on Zebes and SR388 felt when she shot them with her Ice Beam?

" _I believe you just stumbled into Sub-Zero Containment_." Adam explained after confirming that she was all right. " _According to the system, it is where the most dangerous and violent research specimens are kept, mostly for the safety of the staff_. _Samus, you've got to be more careful_."

"I will." She coughed a little, while pulling herself to her feet. "I will… I just need to walk it off, that's all… I'm continuing toward the Quarantine Bay."

The cold and pain was completely gone by the time she reached the next junction in the corridor, which made sense, based on how quickly the Metroids had been able to shake off her Ice Beam in the past. There were now two directions for her to travel in, and from there each looked identical. Thankfully there was an intact directory sign on the wall, and it told her that _Breeding Environment Access_ was to the right, while the primary _Quarantine Bay_ was to the left. This certainly made it easier to find her destination, but when Samus rounded the corner and spotted the doorway, she realized that there was a problem.

First off, the door was just gone; blown apart into a dozen pieces, some sticking into the nearby wall, while others were deeply imbedded into the bodies of more dead staff members who had probably been standing in front of it when it blew. The remnants of the doorframe were bent outward, meaning that the explosion had come from inside the Quarantine Bay, and it must've been _massive_ , because the whole place was just _wrecked_. Stepping into the room, Samus saw that the damage in there was _far_ more extensive than anything else she had seen so far on the station; the walls, equipment, and even the specimen pods toward the back of the room had been _pulverized_.

"It's pretty bad in here, Adam." She reported, getting closer to examine the pods. "But it's strange… the door is blasted outward, but these pods are bent _inward_ as if someone was trying to steal the creatures that were… wait a second."

That was when Samus noticed how much bigger and more sturdy built that the very last pod was, as if it had been built to hold something a lot larger than the usual specimens. Her first thought was that a very valuable creature had been stored in there, and that maybe it's theft was the reason for all the destruction. But then she realized that, like the door, the metal was bent outward, meaning… meaning that something had… blasted its way _out_ of the specimen pod? But how did that make any sense?

She was just about to report her findings to Adam, but stopped when her infrared scanner registered a temperature change. This temperature change was localized, and moving, so she turned toward it, aiming her beam canon just as one of those large frog-like creatures hopped up onto what was left of a storage crate. The creature just stood there, staring at her for several seconds, but from her time on SR388, she was able to fire a shot just as it tried to surprise her by leaping forward.

The basic beam was nowhere near as destructive as her missiles had been, but it did the job, blowing most of its face apart upon impact, and letting the carcass fall to the floor. But then something strange happened… instead of simply dying, the creature's body began to distort, and when it refocused, it was no longer the frog-like creature… but one of those flying gelatinous creatures that Dr. Dolan had called X Parasites.

"Adam, we've got trouble." Samus reported, keeping an eye on the hovering creature. "It's another one of those X things from the planet."

Not wanting a repeat of what happened during her last encounter with the X, she fired several shots with her beam canon, but just like with the missiles, they only succeeded in knocking it off course a bit. Spinning a bit as it moved sideways, the gelatinous creature righted itself, and then it flew right at her. There was no time to react before the creature impacted with the chest portion of her suit, and terror instantly gripped Samus as she remembered what it had done to her last time. However, this time something was different.

The creature was about halfway through penetrating her suit as the other one had done, but then it stopped, and let out a little almost _shrieking_ noise as it appeared to change its mind. The X Parasite tried to pull itself away from her back through her suit, but then its body stiffened before blowing away as dust. As if this wasn't strange enough, there was an odd sensation that came along with the encounter. It wasn't surprise, or a feeling of victory… but she did feel good… no, not just good… but more… _refreshed_?

"The X Parasite is gone, Adam." She said, still in disbelief at what had happened. "I think I killed it, but I'm not sure how."

" _I think I may have the answer to that, Samus_." The computer's voice replied. " _Come back to the Systems Station… I have something that you will want to see_."


	9. Chapter 9 The X Parasites

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Nine: The X Parasites**

Making her way out of the Quarantine Facility, and back toward the Systems Station where Adam was currently uplinked, Samus had some time to think about what she had seen so far onboard the station. Yes, it was unsettling that some of the X Parasites had escaped captivity during whatever happened there, and seeing one of them up close again made her feel sick to her stomach, but those things couldn't have been the main cause of the problem.

Obviously someone onboard, most like a disgruntled or simply greedy member of the staff, had attempted to steal the latest specimens from SR388, probably to sell them to a collector or something. He… or maybe she… had clearly been desperate as well, which would explain why they blasted their way into the Quarantine Bay and shot their way out again, instead of simply waiting for a better time and then sneaking in. Well, whatever their motivations had been, they were now a criminal, and since there was no evidence of other ships leaving the station… they had to still be around somewhere.

" _Welcome back, Samus_." Adam's voice said when she entered the Systems Station. " _While you were investigating the Quarantine Bay, I managed to recover some of the central computer's corrupted data, including an entry that you should find interesting. Watch the monitor, please_."

" _Hello, I'm Dr. Ricard Dolan_." Dr. Dolan said as his black and white image appeared on the flickering monitor. " _This is X Parasite Intensive Research log number one, and since they're going to have me out here doing this for the rest of my life, I figure that I might as well get started_."

Samus smiled a little when she saw him on the recording, and hoped that he had been in another part of the station when the shooting started. Anyway, the recording went on to describe what the X were, with detailed scans and images of the gelatinous creatures being shown along with his words. Most of what he was saying, she already knew. Like, for example how they entered their targets and then multiplied, consuming the host in the process, and he also gave demonstration on how useless weapons and extreme temperatures were against them.

" _The X Parasites are incredibly adaptive_." Dr. Dolan continued. " _However, during my attempts to save the life of Samus Aran, I discovered that they have a weakness. You see, they are immediately destroyed upon contact with Metroid cell cultures, which leads me to believe that the Metroids on SR388 were the primary predators of the X… yeah… maybe we shouldn't have had Ms. Aran wipe them all out_."

" _This revelation explains why you never encountered an X before, Samus_." Adam added. " _And since your body was fundamentally changed and repaired by Dr. Dolan's Metroid Vaccine, this would explain what happened when that X touched you in the Quarantine Bay. Your pseudo-Metroid DNA must have attacked it upon contact, and the good news is that you will never be infected by an X Parasite again_."

This was certainly good news, since she was still having nightmares about the last infection, but it also made her feel bad at the same time. If the Metroids had been the X's predator, and she had wiped out all the Metroids, what was to stop the parasites from multiplying unchecked? That, and each time she had encountered the parasites, they had been disguised as something else… so, how did they do that?

" _When an X Parasite enters a host_." Dr. Dolan continued. " _It begins to feed on that host, using the energy to multiply, which results in even more parasites feeding on the host. The result is an empty husk that can barely be identified as a body, but that isn't the interesting part. The interesting part is what happens next_."

The image changed to another one of those frog-like creatures, and it didn't appear to be doing so well. The little creature was hobbling around like it was drunk or injured, while a familiar gelatinous substance was starting to leak out. It felt like a knot was forming in Samus' stomach as she remembered being in the same position as the creature, and once it finally lost consciousness, everything sped up to show the progression of several hours in less than a minute.

The creature's body was quickly covered by the gelatinous substance, and then it slowly began to shrink down. Four or five X Parasites then exited the remains, revealing it to be little more than bone fragments, and then one of the parasites changed. Its body distorted like she had seen them do before, but this time when it refocused, the parasite had become an exact copy of the frog-like creature. It hopped around, made the same noises, and was otherwise indistinguishable from the original, at least as far as Samus could see.

" _During the feeding process, the X absorbs the host's DNA_." Dr. Dolan continued. " _It then uses its unique cellular structure to mimic the host, most likely as a kind of camouflage, but in this state is cannot simply be destroyed by contact with a Metroid cell. However, the X's disguise is vulnerable to conventional weapons in this state, as well as anything else that would kill the host_."

Dr. Dolan then picked up a small container of a strange, bubbling liquid, and opened the containment pod just long enough to dump the contents onto the creature. The disguised X reacted just like the creature would, roaring and hopping around while the acid tore its body apart, before finally collapsing. The body then distorted, reverting to a floating X Parasite for several seconds… before once again turning itself into a fully restored version of the frog-like creature again. So he used the acid once again, and this time when the X reverted to its original form, the doctor pressed a button that released a small amount of gas into the pod.

" _So far exposure to Metroid cells is the only way to kill them_." He said as the parasite shrieked and disintegrated. " _But this can only be done after the host disguise has been destroyed, and due to these recent discoveries, I am recalling all research teams on the planet, and placing SR388 under Medical Quarantine until further notice. End report_."

"Smart." Samus commented as the report ended. "But if these things are so deadly and dangerous, then who would _possibly_ want to steal them? Even the _Space Pirates_ aren't dimwitted enough to mess with something like _this_."

" _There are more records, Samus_." Adam's voice explained. " _However, the corruption level of the computer systems is substantial, but it would certainly help if we could get this station operational again_. _There is currently no way for you to restore main power, since the whole area is locked down beyond my access, but we may have another option. If you make your way up to the Control Deck, you could manually restart the auxiliary power systems, which would at least let us get a better look at the station's status_."

The monitor once again flickered to life, showing the same map of the local area that she had used to find her way to both the Systems Station and the Quarantine Facility. Now a new route was marked, one that would make her retrace her steps to one of the nonfunctioning elevators that she had seen along the way. Since there was no power, it meant that Samus would have to climb her way up… not that such a thing was difficult, but it would have been _a lot_ easier if she still had all of the upgrades installed in her suit.

" _Hopefully restoring auxiliary power will give us access to the Reactor Silo_." Adam continued. " _If we are going to send an accurate report to Federation HQ, we will need the station's sensors to tell us how many of the X specimens have escaped… that, and I do not wish to have you blind to any approaching threats, Samus. Is your objective clear_?"

"Yeah, I got it." She replied, turning toward the door. "I can't wait to get the damn lights back on in this place."

The darkened elevators were only a few meters back down the corridor after leaving the Systems Station, so in no time at all she was standing in front of one of the doors. If her Varia Suit was still intact, then blasting the doors apart, or simply ripping them off their hinges would have been easy, but now she didn't even know how much, if any, of her enhanced strength remained. The quickest way to find out was to try, so Samus grabbed onto the doors, and pulled. They shook a little, but ripping them off their hinges was apparently not an option, although she was able to pull them open quite easily.

Since there was still no power, she used her beam weapon to shoot the lock off of the maintenance hatch, and from there she climbed her way up into the elevator shaft. The Control Deck was only two levels above, and most maintenance personnel didn't have the abilities of her Varia Suit, so there was a conveniently placed service ladder built into the wall. The climb itself was uneventful, but when she reached the top and pulled open the doors, Samus stopped when her infrared scanner registered something.

It only picked up the signal for a couple seconds, but there was something big moving down the corridor up ahead. Not too big, only a little larger than a large, stocky man, probably wearing an EV Suit of some kind. For a moment she considered calling out to them, but then again it might have been the one responsible for what happened on the station, so it was best to observe them for the moment. The figure was slowly walking away from her, and Samus wished that she could see them more clearly, but without any lights she only had the heat signature to go on.

"Adam, I've got a contact." She whispered while silently climbing out of the elevator shaft. "Looks like they're wearing some kind of armored suit, but other than a high body temperature, I can't tell much more about them from here."

" _I'm picking up your readings now, Samus_." The computer's voice replied. " _Hmmm… I will need time to analyze this… remember, Samus, that you are in no real condition for a fight, so try to stay out of sight until we know more_."

Easy enough orders to follow, or at least they _would have_ been easy to follow if the figure wasn't headed in the same direction that she needed to go. The good news was that they hadn't seemed to notice her yet, and the Control Deck was just ahead, which according to the map was a wide area where she would be able to sneak around more easily. A few moments later the figure passed through the doorway into the Control Deck, and Samus was creeping down the hallway in preparation to follow, when an alarm started blaring, making her jump.

The darkened station was suddenly brightly lit by spinning yellow lights on the walls and ceiling, forcing her to deactivate her infrared scanner as a security shutter slid into place in front of her. This prevented from entering the Control Deck, but for just a second while it was closing, the figure turned around. The spinning lights had illuminated that part of the station as well, and just for a second Samus was able to see the outline of a face behind a green visor… and a suit that looked almost… Chozo?


	10. Chapter 10 BOX

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Ten: B.O.X.**

The security shutter finished closing before Samus could get a better look at… whoever it was that she had just seen on the Control Deck, and there was no way that her beam weapon would be able to break through in its current condition. She gave it a try, though, but just as she thought, the shot could barely even be heard over the blaring alarms when it disbursed harmlessly against the shutter.

"Adam, can you override security from there?" She asked, shooting it again just for good measure. "I just saw something _really_ strange, and I need to get past this shutter to confirm it."

" _Negative, Samus_." Adam's voice replied. " _I have been trying since it started, but my every attempt to lift the lockdown has been defeated_."

Suddenly the whole deck seemed to shake as an explosion was heard from beyond the shutter, and this was followed by a sort of metallic scraping, before more explosions were both heard and felt. From what Samus could hear through the shutter, it sounded like some kind of battle was going on; more explosions mixed with what sounded like shots being fired from a high-yield beam weapon, and even more metallic scraping. This continued on for over a minute, but then there was an incredible crash that shook the floor so badly that Samus was nearly knocked off balance… and then the sounds stopped.

The lights were still spinning, and the alarms were still going off, but as for the explosions and beam shots, well, it appeared that the battle was over. However, the lockdown was still in place, meaning that she still couldn't go in and see what had happened, even though her curiosity was practically _killing_ her. Pressing herself up against the shutter, and leaning her ear into it as hard as she could, Samus managed to hear something. It was soft at first, a kind of rhythmic _thud-thud-thud_ that slowly got louder… almost like if someone was walking toward her while wearing really heavy…

 _BOOM!_ Suddenly the shutter was blasted from its hinges; thrown toward her by what sounded like a powerful explosion, and knocking the wind out of her as it pinned her down on her back. The heavy shutter was now completely covering her body, making it impossible for Samus to move her arms and legs no matter how hard she tried. If all of her suit's upgrades were still intact, getting out from under this thing would've been easy, but they weren't, and now she was trapped.

 _Thud-thud-thud_ , the rhythmic sound was louder now, and once the smoke from the blast cleared, she was able to see a set of armored boots walking out of the Control Deck. She expected whoever this was to stop and go around the fallen shutter, but instead they simply walked across it, the added weight making Samus groan softly as they walked right across where she was. The armored boots reappeared on the other side when she turned her head to look toward the elevator shaft, and the owner of them just kept marching along to _thud-thud-thud_ , until they vanished after casually jumping down the shaft.

" _Samus, what happened?_ " Adam's voice asked. " _I'm reading a breach of the lockdown_."

"Yeah, you could say that." Samus replied, straining to free herself. "Someone just blasted their way out… Adam, I'm gonna need a second here… I'm stuck."

After several attempts to lift the heavy shutter, she realized that this was impossible in her current state. However, it was slightly dented toward her from the impact of what sounded like a _Super Missile_ , but how could someone on this station have weaponry like that? Anyway, it was dented regardless, so Samus was able to tilt it a little while she inched her way to freedom by sliding herself along the floor. She could only move a couple inches at a time, and the shutter was so heavy for her that even tilting it too all her strength, but eventually she was able to free herself.

"Okay, I'm out." She reported, sitting up while trying to catch her breath. "I'm not sure what just happened in here, but at least now I can get onto the Control Deck."

" _Samus, are you all right?_ " The computer asked. " _You appear to be winded. Perhaps you should rest for a while._ "

Reassuring her computerized CO that she was fine as she pulled herself to her feet, Samus hated to admit that she just wasn't used to her suit being so limited. For years she had relied on all of the Chozo upgrades and features that she had discovered during her first mission on planet Zebes, and now that they were gone… she felt like a shell of her former self. Sure, she still had all of her training and skills, but little things like the _Screw_ _Module_ and _Power Bombs_ certainly made the life of a bounty hunter a lot easier.

Then again, it wasn't like she had started out with all of those things. In fact, when she had first arrived on Zebes to hunt down Mother Brain, her original suit hadn't been much better than this one, and her first beam weapon had just been… pathetic. Hell, she hadn't even had missiles when she started out, so maybe… _just maybe_ … after all this was over, Samus could go to other Chozo ruins and find them all over again.

This thought gave her hope as she passed through the blasted doorway into the Control Deck, but then she saw the condition of the place, and realized that there really _had_ been some kind of a fight going on in there. Parts of the walls had been blasted apart, there were long drag marks all across the floor, and a huge part of the ceiling had even fallen to the floor. Well, the fight was over, and she still needed to get auxiliary power restored, so she had just found out that the room marked _POWER SYSTEMS_ was behind the ceiling piece… when the rubble began to move.

The huge piece of ceiling debris was now shaking back and forth, more and more as if something was trying to dislodge it from underneath. Her infrared scanner was picking up something, but she wasn't able to get a clear reading… at least, not until the ceiling debris was finally pushed over. It fell to the floor with an echoing _crash_ that could be heard above the alarms, revealing that some kind of large machine had been pinned underneath.

It had a cylindrical body, and segmented legs on all sides, sort of like a crab or a spider, but some of the legs were so heavily damaged that they simply dragged across the floor as the thing moved. The rest of it wasn't in very good shape either; sparks shooting out of broken sensors on its face, and parts of its chases torn open, exposing the components within. The machine stumbled a bit after standing up, but then it stopped after turning to face Samus. Its mechanical eyes were dark, so instead it appeared to use an infrared scanner beam to detect her.

"It's some kind of _B.O.X._ security droid, Adam." She said as its scanner beam passed over her. "It's heavily damaged, but still seems mostly operational… good thing I have authorization to be here."

The beam passed over her a couple more times, and then it stopped, so Samus expected it to continue on its way. However, the thing now seemed to be even _more_ focused on her, and then a small hatch opened up on top of its body, revealing what looked like a really small warhead.

"Oh… shit." She whispered just before the missile was launched.

Jumping out of the way, Samus hit the floor at the same time that the small missile struck the wall behind her, and then she rolled sideways while reflexively firing her beam weapon at the machine. Her shots disbursed harmlessly against the droid's hull, but the few that found their way into the holes seemed to do some damage, making it stumble to the side as more sparks started to fly out.

"Adam, override the security droid!" Samus exclaimed as she jumped up to avoid the next missile. "It's a B.O.X. type, so it should have some kind of emergency shutdown command!"

" _I can't, Samus_." The computer replied as she returned fire again. " _The command circuits that control this machine are locked into manual operation… Samus, I believe that someone is piloting the security droid by remote_."

Well, that was just _wonderful_ , Samus thought as she had to sprint to the side to avoid the next missile. The machine fired again, making her have to run back the other way, only to have it fire again, but by this time she was getting a little tired of dodging its missiles. Her beam weapon was capable of damaging it, but only when the shots went into the holes in its armor, which meant that she had to get closer. Making a sudden turn and sprinting toward the B.O.X. machine, Samus was slowed down a little each time she had to dive or duck out of the way to avoid its missiles.

She was able to distract it by shooting her beam at its face each time she got the chance, and even managed to hit one of the missiles just after it was launched; the small explosion making another of the machine's legs give out as it fell forward. Her plan was to leap onto the droid's body and shoot her beam into it until the thing was destroyed, but it managed to swat her away with one of its still working legs, causing her to land on the floor instead of on its body. The blow had also caught her partially in the helmet, leaving Samus a little dizzy when she tried to get to stand up.

 _WOOSH!_ Samus looked up just in time to see a missile coming right at her face, but it was just a little off course, allowing her to watch as its trail of smoke was left just inches from her face. The machine fired again, and again, but now it didn't appear to be aiming at anything, instead just firing randomly in her general direction as if it could no longer see at all. Missile after missile slammed into the walls and floor, some hitting close, while others could never have hit her in a million years, giving her a chance to think.

The machine was blind and damaged, but it was still tough and dangerous, meaning that it had to be stopped as quickly as possible before it did any more damage to the station. But how was she going to stop it? Her beam was just not cutting it, so there had to be another… that was when she saw the debris that it had been trapped under before, and when Samus looked up, she saw that the rest of the ceiling looked like it was ready to come down as well.

Aiming her beam weapon, and firing several shots at the ceiling, this was more than enough to dislodge a really big piece that was soon on its way down. It fell with its most pointed part first, as if some kind of giant dagger, but Samus could tell from its shadow that this first attempt was going to miss. That is, until the blind and damaged droid stumbled sideways again, bringing it right into the target zone.

The debris pierced the damaged hull, sending legs and circuit pieces flying as the rest of the ceiling piece finished the job. The alarms and lights slowly stopped as well, as if they had been linked to the machine, leaving her in the dark again. Well, her enemy was defeated, so she was just about to head for the power systems room, when her own scanner detected something. It was a signal that was coming from the leg that had landed closest to her, and when she took a closer scan of the weapon that it had used to attack her, she couldn't help but gasp.

"Adam, you're not going to believe this." Samus said as she carefully removed the weapon from its slot. "But this looks like… this looks like the old _Missile Module_ from my Varia Suit!"


	11. Chapter 11 Maintenance Tunnels

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Eleven: Maintenance Tunnels**

As excited as she was to find a replacement for one of her lost abilities, the BSL station was still dark, so before Samus did anything else, she needed to get auxiliary power restored. The entranceway to the Auxiliary Power Control Station was right behind where she had first encountered the B.O.X. machine, and the door had been blown apart in a similar fashion to the Quarantine Bay. For a moment she wondered if whoever was using the droid had used it to blow open the doors, but from what she had seen, the small missiles it had used against her would not have been powerful enough, so it must have been that other person that she saw.

"Okay, Adam, I'm entering the station now." She reported. "I should have some power for us in a minute."

For a moment Samus was worried because the console inside the room had no power, but then she remembered about the emergency generator that should have been built into the back. Finding the panel was easy, as was cranking the dynamo until all of the indicator lights were on, causing a single button on the console to come to light up. So she pressed it, and just like with the Systems Station, the console came to life. The last thing that she needed to do was use her suit to interface with the systems, and a low hum resonated through the station once this was done.

Suddenly the lights in the room and main Control Deck came on… well, only about one out of every three, but it was enough for her to no longer rely on the infrared scanner, so Samus deactivated it. It always took a little time for her eyes to adjust back to normal vision after a long period of looking through the scanner, but now that they had, she could take a better look at the module that had been salvaged from the security droid.

"This is _really_ impressive craftsmanship." She said while her suit's systems scanned it. "It looks like an almost identical copy of my old Missile Module, but I'll hold back judgement until I see if I can interface with it."

" _That would seem unlikely, Samus_." Adam's voice replied as she opened her beam cannon. " _Your X-infected suit pieces were sent back here after removal, so the technology could possibly be reverse-engineered, but from what is known of the Chozo, the workmanship would have to be completely identical for it to be reintegrated_."

This was true, she thought as she inserted the module into her cannon. The Federation had tried for years to copy the advanced technology of the Chozo, and although it could be made to at least partially work, there was always the obvious alien-touch that prevented it from being complete. However, once the module was installed, her suit quickly tested it, and reported that her ability to fire standard missiles had been restored.

" _Truly?_ " Adam asked as she fired one at the destroyed robot just to make sure. " _Well, the most likely source would be Dr. Dolan, since he had taken a known interest in Chozo technology, but if so, then how did it get installed onto the security droid?_ "

"I don't know." She replied, closing the weapon back into beam mode. "But what bothers me is that the force it would take to destroy these kind of doors could have only come from my _enhanced_ missiles, and that robot was definitely _not_ carrying those."

Clearly there was some kind of unknown factor coming into effect on the station, but the more Samus thought about it, the less it made sense. Both the person in the armored suit _and_ the security droid both seemed to possess some kind of prototype Chozo weaponry, but they were fighting before she showed up, so they couldn't have been working together, so… was one of them trying to stop whoever caused this whole mess in the first place? But if so, which one was the good guy here?

" _The good news, Samus, is that station power is up to thirty-three percent_." The computer continued. " _I am having an easier time accessing this local network, but the lockdown is still in effect, meaning that we are essentially trapped on this deck. The internal sensors are limited to this area, and I still can't access the other networks, but I have opened emergency maintenance access to the Main Reactor Silo. Without main power, we will never be able to ascertain the status of the Breeding Environments, nor will we be able to search for survivors_."

"All right, then let's get main power back on." She said while moving back toward the elevator shaft. "Have you found out anything else from the logs that can help us?"

The elevators were still non-functioning, so she had to climb back down, which gave her plenty of time to listen to Adam's findings. Apparently upon further study, Dr. Dolan had discovered that the X Parasites had the ability to not only copy their hosts, but also to process computerized data through bio-organic means. His experiment involved attaching one to a data port while designs for a new heater coil were transmitted, resulting in the specimen permanently increasing its own body temperature until it was, quite literally, _too hot to handle_.

This made Samus wonder, as she reached the bottom of the shaft, if the parasites were capable of actual intelligence, or if they were simply instinctual imitators. She smiled a bit while imagining Dr. Dolan getting all excited to make these kinds of new discoveries, but then the happiness became worry when she remembered that he was somewhere on this station as well. Was he still alive? Or had he been one of the casualties that she had passed by in the Quarantine Facility?

Well, that would have to be determined once main power was restored, and even though she was terribly worried about him, the best thing that Samus could do for everyone was to keep her mind on the mission. It was much easier to move through the station now that about a third of the lights were back on, but as she had seen, doors and elevators were still nonfunctioning, meaning that she had to follow Adam's route to a nearby maintenance hatch in the floor. Thankfully, auxiliary power was enough for Adam to be able to unlock it, and now she had to crawl her way through a series of service ducts.

" _This will be a very long crawl, Samus_." Adam's voice said as she closed the hatch behind her. " _From what I can see on the map, these tunnels wind their way all throughout the station, but I have mapped out a route that will get you to the silo more quickly. I am sending it to you now_."

There was a lot less lighting in the service tunnels, which made no sense, since the station's maintenance workers would have had to go down there whenever something didn't work, and would have to be able to _see_ in order to fix it. A moment later she received Adam's route plan, and as she looked at it on her helmet's interior display, Samus realized that he was right when he said it would be a very long crawl. Too bad she no longer had her _Morph Ball Drive_ , or the time would've been cut in half, but then she rounded a corner, and realized that it might not be needed.

"Adam, there's some kind of breech in the duct up ahead." She reported when she got closer. "It looks like it goes down to another duct-line, but I'm also seeing signs of blast residue. There's some on the walls and ceiling as well, but not as much, as if whatever caused it was intentionally trying to go downward."

" _Hmm… if the map is correct, then this new 'shortcut' will save you a lot of time_." Adam's voice replied. " _It's up to you whether or not you explore it, but be careful_."

It would probably be a lot safer to follow the mapped route, but at the same time there could be trapped survivors, or unseen damage to the Breeding Environments that Adam had mentioned, so after using her infrared scanner to see if anything was down there, she took the risk. With the Morph Ball ability, she could have simply dropped down, but this time Samus had to crawl into the hole and carefully lower herself down into the next duct.

The map on her display changed a second later to show that she was _much_ farther along the route now, but she still had a long way to go, so she continued crawling along for a ways… before coming to another hole that was identical to the first one. Now she knew that something strange was happening, since each hole, some in the wall and some in the floor, moved her farther along Adam's planned route. That, and the explosion size and residue was similar to that of the ones left behind from using her old _Bomb Module_.

Was someone leading her down toward the Silo? That was ridiculous, since in order to intentionally place the holes, they would have to know Adam's planned route, or at least know the _entire layout_ of the BSL station by heart. Samus's mapping tool could have allowed it, so long as she had passed through this way before, but to accomplish the feat without her seeing what was responsible… that would require a Morph Ball Drive, and even most of the _Chozo_ didn't understand how to make those work.

So she continued following the holes, making her way closer to the silo with each drop or turn, until finally Samus dropped down into a full size tunnel. According to the map, she was now inside the _Engineering Section_ of the station, and the Main Reactor Silo was right around the corner. It was also nice to be able to stand up again, since she had spent years being spoiled by the Morph Ball, and had forgotten how sore she could get from crawling for long periods of time. However, Samus hadn't gone more than five steps, rounding the corner, and having to hide back behind the corner to avoid being seen by the figure that was right in front of her.

Somehow she managed to turn around and take cover without making a sound, peeking around the corner just enough to get a clear view of the figure from behind while they marched forward to that same rhythmic _thud-thud-thud_. The suit they were wearing was heavily armored, and now that some of the lights were back on, Samus could see that the suit itself was orange colored… with a design that was _very_ similar to that of her old Varia Suit.

The entrance to the Main Reactor Silo was sealed, meaning that the door didn't open when the figure approached, and they were starting to aim their own beam cannon at it, when they suddenly turned around. Again, Samus was able to see the outline of a face through the figure's green visor, while at the same time hoping that the shadows were keeping her from being seen. The figure just stood there for several seconds, with Samus scarcely daring to breathe, lest the noise give her away. She didn't really know why the sight of this… _person_ was making her feel so afraid, but she couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief when the figure turned their attention back to the door.

The figure aimed at the door, opening their beam cannon as if preparing to use missiles, but then they stopped, and took another quick look back in Samus's direction before the figure collapsed down into a… _Morph Ball?!_ Samus's eyes went wide from surprise as she saw this person use what she _thought_ was a unique system as if it were nothing… but then the figure did something else… something that made the color drain out of Samus's face as a small device was dropped out from under the ball.

After seeing the figure use the Morph Ball Drive, it wouldn't have shocked her that they were armed with bombs, since they probably used them to get down this far. But then the device started spinning, and Samus's mind barely registered that it was a _Power Bomb_ , before the whole area was lit up by the explosion.


	12. Chapter 12 The Yakuza Model

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twelve: The Yakuza Model**

The light from the blast filled Samus's visor, and it was so intense that she had to shut her eyes, while the force of the explosion sent her flying backwards. Based on her own knowledge of the weapon; her distance from it, along with the wall partially protecting her, meant that she wouldn't be vaporized instantly, but as far as being tossed around like a little rag doll… that was another story. Even after the Power Bomb had done its job, she was still left temporarily blinded from the flash, and her ears were ringing so badly that she found herself unable to stand.

Needless to say, this left her completely vulnerable to any kind of attack, and based on that second look toward her before making the weapon choice, Samus was certain that the one wearing that Chozo suit had seen her standing there. Why else would they have used a Power Bomb that could easily level the whole room, instead of a precision weapon like a Super Missile to take out the door? But what was the motivation? Wanting to destroy her? Wanting to make a show of strength?

It was frightening enough to know that someone had gained enough understanding of Chozo technology to construct these weapons, but at the same time, anyone who understood them, should have had enough wisdom to know that they should never be used recklessly. So who was it in the suit? Dr. Dolan was the only one Samus could think of who had been trying to make such a suit, but she didn't believe that he would misuse it in such a way, so who was it? Another scientist who was motivated by greed?

" _Samus?_ " Adam's voice started to break through the fading ring. " _Samus, are you there?_ _Respond._ "

"I'm here." She groaned as she got up to her hands and knees. "Power Bombs… Adam, whoever is doing all this has _Power Bombs_."

The computer seemed to be just as confused about this development as she was, based on his silence that followed, but by this time her vision was starting to clear as well, allowing Samus to take a look around the corridor. Thankfully the whole place hadn't collapsed, but the Power Bomb had definitely lived up to its name. The door into the Reactor Silo had been pulverized, and the walls and ceiling were covered with cracks and holes, as was the floor. What she didn't see however, was the one who used the weapon, with the most logical assumption being that they had entered the Silo.

" _Samus, I have news for you_." Adam's voice finally said. " _When the Power Bomb detonated, some of its residual energy was absorbed into the station's systems, giving me access to the internal sensors for a just a few moments. During that time, I detected two different bio-signs, the first being an unusually strong reading of yours, likely due to your proximity to the weapon. The other… was Dr. Richard Dolan_."

Samus gasped when she heard this, first out of happiness that he was still alive, but then from a knot forming in her stomach when she realized that he must've been the one in the suit. But that didn't make any sense at all… why would Dr. Dolan try to hurt her like that? Why would he have built a perfect replica of her Varia Suit, and then use it to attack his own station? Had he somehow been driven insane? Had this been his plan from the beginning? She was so confused by all of this, and suddenly she felt selfish and embarrassed when she realized that the thing she wanted to know most of all… was whether or not he really cared for her.

" _Samus, I definitely picked up Dr. Dolan's readings_." The computer continued. " _He was inside the Silo, and that door is the only way in or out. Samus, I know that you have a personal attachment in this case, but whether or not he is responsible for the current condition of this station, Dr. Dolan is the only witness we have found so far, and he must be debriefed_."

The more she talked to this gruff, calculating machine, the more Samus was reminded of Adam Malkovich, the other CO that she had served under a number of years before. He had been a compassionless prick as well, and every time this computer gave her an order, she half-expected him to end it with a condescending _'any objections, Lady?'_ although this was impossible. Adam was right, however, that Dr. Dolan needed to be questioned, but maybe she could talk him down from… whatever he was doing in there.

Even with auxiliary power restored, the Silo was completely dark, aside from a few indicator lights on the walls that allowed Samus to see that the room was circular. Switching back to her infrared scanner, she could see the shapes of machinery that one would expect to find in a Reactor Silo, but so far there was no sign of life.

"Richard?" She called as she stepped through the destroyed doorway. "Richard, are you in here?"

" _I knew you'd find your way down here eventually_." Dr. Dolan's voice answered as if through a speaker. " _I didn't think you could figure out how to restore auxiliary power, but I guess you're even smarter than I gave you credit for… too bad all that intelligence was wasted on a parasitic bitch like you_."

His voice sounded shaky and frightened, as if the man was scared of something, but what possible reason could he have to be threatened by her? Through whatever he was speaking through, Samus could also hear that his breathing was shallow and rapid, along with a… yawn? It was starting to sound like Dr. Dolan was trying to force himself to stay awake, but again, why would he have been sleep-deprived in the first place?

"Look, Richard, I'm unarmed." Samus said calmly as she deactivated her suit. "Please come out… I really miss you."

" _Stop it!_ " He screamed, echoing through the Silo. " _Stop torturing me! You just want to get main power turned back on so you can get through the station, but I blocked you, didn't I?! Even with all your power, you're no match for my lockdowns and firewalls, are you?!_ "

The way he was talking, Samus was starting to think that he was delusional, since he was acting like she was his enemy. Something had clearly made Dr. Dolan hysterical, and even though he was bragging about stopping her from doing… _whatever_ it was that he thought she was doing, the amount of fear and panic in his voice was almost immeasurable.

"Richard, I know you're scared right now." She continued, trying to hide her own nervousness. "But I promise that if you stand down, and come out where I can see you, nothing bad will happen."

" _Nothing bad will happen?_ " His voice replied. " _Was that a threat? Do you think that I'll place myself at your mercy just because you managed to defeat my B.O.X.? Well, I've got bad news for you, Sami… that B.O.X. was nothing compared to my new Yakuza Model! Here, let me show you how it works!_ "

Samus was about to try talking him down again, but then a dim light appeared up toward the top of the Silo. There was also a sound of energy building up, quickly intensifying as the light got brighter, and then the energy erupted into a projectile. With just enough time to reactivate her suit, she dove out of the way just before a familiar looking blast struck the floor where she had been standing. The sounds and intensity were identical to the Charge Capacitor that had been installed onto her Varia Suit, and another blast was building, this time from a different location, by the time she stopped rolling.

"Richard, stop!" She yelled after dodging the next one. "I don't want to hurt you!"

" _No?_ " His voice replied, even shakier now. " _But you sure as hell want to kill everyone else on this station, huh? I thought we could become friends, Sami… I gave you a fair chance, and you screwed me over the first moment you had an opportunity!_ "

It appeared that in his delirious and hysterical state, Dr. Dolan was in no condition to be talked down, meaning that she was going to have to subdue him. Switching to her infrared scanner, she expected to see the shape of a suit similar to hers when she looked up toward where the voice was coming from, but this was not the case. Instead, Samus saw another spider-like security droid using its long, agile legs to crawl along the walls of the Silo, but why would he choose to pilot this _Yakuza Model_ against her, if he had a perfectly good _Varia Suit_ at his disposal?

There was another buildup of energy as the droid prepared its next attack, and of course Samus had to dive out of the way to avoid it, but this time she had seen where it came from. In order to fire its powerful charged blasts, the droid had to stop moving and open its large mouth, which seemed to act as some kind of focusing conduit. This meant that it couldn't fire while moving, and it had to change position in order to target her each time, so all she had to do was keep changing position.

Aiming at the droid and firing several shots with her beam weapon, Samus ran across the Silo, turning sharply at the halfway point, and forcing it to try and keep up with her as she continued firing. Most of her shots hit the droid, but they glanced harmlessly off its armored legs and body, so she opened her cannon and fired a missile, but aside from making its mechanical body shake a little, there was no effect.

" _Getting tired, Sami?_ " Dr. Dolan's voice asked as Samus stopped moving. " _Have you finally worn down after all this time? Well, stay where you are, and I'll put you to bed_."

The droid's mouth opened, and the energy started to buildup, but this was what Samus wanted. She had known that it was highly unlikely for her current weapons to get through this thing's armor, meaning that the only way to damage it was from the inside. So she waited until the energy was building, before aiming upward and firing another missile, causing a small explosion when the small warhead entered the droid's mouth.

" _What?!_ " Dr. Dolan's voice exclaimed as the droid began to shake. " _No!_ "

Sparks were starting to shoot out of the mouth, and then from between the leg-joints when the Yakuza Model began stumbling across the wall. It's movements soon slowed down when black smoke started to pour out of what looked like its exhaust ports, and then one of its legs slipped off the wall, causing the droid to plummet toward the bottom of the Silo. There was a hard crash when the droid hit, filling the Silo with the sound of scraping metal as the whole room shook for a second, and apparently the battle was over.

"Richard!" Samus called as she started toward him. "Hang on, Richard, I'm coming!"

" _Samus, no_." Adam's voice commanded. " _That security droid might still be a threat; you must use this time to restore main power. I know you want to help him, Samus, but without main power, will there be any way for you to help Dr. Dolan if he is injured_?"

As much as she hated to admit it, the computer was right. Dr. Dolan was a danger to himself and others in his current state, and he would just keep attacking if the droid still worked… which didn't seem likely, being that it had crashed upside down, and was barely registering on her scanner. The main controls were at the center of the room, so Samus ran over to it, and used the hidden crank to restore the console's power.

"Okay, this should do it, Adam." Samus said as she went back around it and hit the button. "Main power should be on in…

As soon as she had pressed the activation button, there was a low hum from the Main Reactor that caused the lights in the room to slowly come on as it intensified, and this allowed her to see that there was someone standing in the destroyed doorway that she had used to enter… someone in a suit that was _definitely_ of Chozo design… and who wasted no time in aiming their beam cannon at Samus, before firing.


	13. Chapter 13 The Figure

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Thirteen: The Figure**

There was no time to avoid the shimmering blue and white beam as it left the figure's cannon, and the wind was knocked out of Samus when it struck her in the chest, throwing her backwards. She must've blacked out for a minute or something, because the next thing she knew, she was lying on the floor a short distance away from the control panel, and the figure was now standing there with their back to Samus, attempting to work the controls.

She tried to move, but the freezing agony in her chest was so great that it made her cough, splattering a small amount of blood on the inside of her visor. Trying to take in a breath was just as painful, limiting her to rasping, gagging, and more coughing, but the worst part was when she moved her hand from her chest, only to find that it was covered with blood. Struggling to look down at herself, Samus's eyes went wide when she saw that the figure's beam had managed to penetrate a small part of her suit.

Meanwhile, the figure appeared to be becoming frustrated with whatever they were trying to do with the controls; pushing the buttons more rapidly, while their body language suggested that something still wasn't working. Samus couldn't guess what this was, since all the lights were on, meaning that main power had been restored, but she also didn't want to ask the figure, being that this person had already shot her with an… _Ice Beam_?

It was impossible for someone else to have an Ice Beam, since only _one_ prototype had even been produced before the Chozo civilization fell to ruins, but apparently this person had somehow produced a _damn_ good copy. Had Dr. Dolan really managed to create such things on his own? But if he had been piloting the Yakuza droid… then who was in the suit? Either way, she was not equipped to handle this situation in her current state, so grabbed onto a nearby table to pull herself up, but couldn't help crying out loudly from the pain when she fell back down.

"Huh?" A soft female voice asked as the figure turned around. "Alive?"

Feeling an intense sensation of fear as the figure started walking toward her, Samus coughed up more blood as she again tried to get up, but she had only gotten to her knees, when the figure struck her in the side of the helmet with their cannon, throwing her back down to the floor. Landing on her back once again, she tried to sit up, but this was stopped when the figure held her down by pressing their foot into her wounded chest.

"Doors." The figure said, pressing down harder. "How… open? ... Tell."

The foot pressed down hard enough to make Samus cry out while she tried, and failed, to push it off. The figure just kept pressing down harder while repeating the same demand, so she responded by firing at her with her cannon. The energy disbursed harmlessly upon striking the Chozo-looking armor, so Samus opened the cannon in order to launch a missile. The small warheads made the figure twitch a little when they exploded, but aside from producing some smoke, there had been no visible effect, even when hitting the figure's visor.

There were no more words, or any other reaction from the figure as they just stood there for several seconds, but then Samus gasped when they aimed their own cannon at her once again. This time the energy began to build in the same manner that the Yakuza droid's weapon had done, but as much as she struggled, Samus was unable to get away when she found herself staring down the blue and white glowing barrel of the weapon. If it was like her old Charge Capacitor had been, there were only a couple seconds before the end… but then Samus's eyes were drawn to something else.

There was another gathering light… one coming from behind the figure… more specifically from inside the now open mouth of the damaged Yakuza droid. The machine then fired, hitting the figure in the back, and causing their own shot to go wild as they were thrown forward. The figure landed on their face and slid a short distance, but again seemed to be relatively undamaged while they, and the droid, got to their feet.

"Richard." The figure said, aiming the cannon. "Doors… open… now."

Instead of responding, the droid simply charged another blast, again throwing the figure backwards when it struck them in the chest. The machine wasted no time in preparing another one as soon as it could, but this time the figure sat up and fired first, the beam sheering off two of its legs, and making its next attack almost hit Samus. Next the figure opened their cannon in order to fire a missile, but this time the Yakuza droid fired first, making the missile blow a small hole in the floor near the wall.

" _Sa… zzz… Samus… zzz…_ " Adam's voice crackled through in her helmet. " _Samus… zzz… of there. Zzz… for these opponents… zzz… while they are distracted… you hear me?_ "

Escape was sounding pretty good at this point, and it was Samus's hope that no one would notice her crawling toward that new hole in the wall. So she waited until the next time the droid fired, not happening until its last legs were blown off along with huge pieces of its armor, and then she went for it. However, she had only just managed to get to her hands and knees, when the Yakuza droid's searchlight fell over her.

" _What?!_ " Dr. Dolan's voice cracked with surprise and fear. " _But how can there… how can you… no, it's impossible! How can there be two of you?!_ "

Dr. Dolan's voice screamed as he aimed the droid's last leg at Samus, and launched it at her like a spear, missing her helmet by no more than a few inches when she reflexively dropped to the floor. The droid then closed its mouth and started rolling forward, moving fast enough to avoid the figure's next shot, before bouncing up into the air. The droid slammed into the figure, tackling them to the floor, before releasing four spheres that stuck to the Chozo-looking armor. The droid then bounced away, allowing Samus to see that the objects looked like standard _Bombs_ , before the figure vanished in the smoke from the resulting small explosions.

Samus expected the droid to continue attacking, but instead Dr. Dolan's voice screamed in panic as the machine rolled across the Silo, quickly vanishing into the hole that had been made by the Super Missile. Given what she had seen of the figure, it was only a matter of seconds before they got up again, so Samus started crawling as fast as her wounds would allow her. Not looking back to check on the figure's progress, she just crawled and crawled, gasping with fright when a blue and white energy blast struck the floor next to her. Another one followed a few seconds later, followed by another, but she kept going until she too vanished into the hole.

This hole led into another maintenance shaft like the ones she had crawled through before, and after a short drop, Samus backed up into the shadows in an attempt to hide from view when the figure looked down. But when the figure stood at the edge of the hole, they instead collapsed into what looked like a Morph Ball, before rolling down into the hole and tearing off down the shaft, presumably in the same direction that Dr. Dolan had gone. Then it was over… Dr. Dolan's droid, and the mysterious figure were both gone, leaving Samus sitting there alone as the silence returned.

"Adam." She groaned, holding her chest. "Adam, I'm hurt… prep the ship's medical system… I'm gonna try and climb back up to you."

" _It's good to see that you're still alive, Samus_." The computer's voice replied. " _However, one of those stray shots has collapsed the doorway you previously used, meaning that you cannot come back here on the same route. Now that main power has been restored, I can access at least a partial map of the station, and I believe that I can provide you with a way out_."

The computer went on to explain that the shaft she was in was listed as an emergency access point, meant for gaining access to the Silo from one of the stations Breeding Environments in case of, well… an emergency. This particular shaft was connected to an environment that was listed as _Sector Two: Tropical_. The log described it as a humid, fertile environment, designed for the development and study of creatures that thrived in the arboreal climates of different planets.

" _I'm sending you a map of your route now_." Adam continued, just before the image appeared on her now unstable display. " _That droid and… the other are obviously your biggest concerns, but you may also encounter some rather hostile creatures along the way. You are, of course, authorized to defend yourself, but please try not to destroy any more BSL specimens than necessary_."

"Okay." Samus groaned, getting to her hands and knees. "I don't feel much like fighting, anyway.

It was hard to move at all as she started crawling her way down the maintenance shaft, and even though the route was not very long, it still felt like she had gone a hundred miles by the time that she reached the open interior hatch that was labeled SEC 2 (TRO). At least now all the service lights were on, allowing Samus to see where she was going, and she could also see that green plant roots were beginning to push their way into the shaft.

"I'm at the entrance to Sector Two." She reported, breathing heavily. "Any last minute advice."

"Some…" The computer replied. "Now that main power has been restored, I am having a much easier time accessing the station's logs, namely those of Dr. Dolan. I will let you know if I find anything useful, but for now I would suggest trying to find him on your way out. Logic suggests that he would use this same route to escape, and if at all possible, he must be brought here for debriefing. That… and who knows… you might get lucky, and find another usable upgrade for your suit in his droid."

Adam's appraisal on Dr. Dolan's bio-signs indicated that continuing his fight against the figure, or even him _remaining conscious_ for an extended period of time, was unlikely. As was his or Samus's probability of survival if they encountered this Chozo-suited enemy again during the journey. Either way, she needed to get through this shaft if she wanted to accomplish any of these things, so Samus took a deep breath, and crawled into Sector Two.


	14. Chapter 14 Sector 2 (TRO)

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Sector 2 (TRO)**

More roots and vines could be seen sticking into the maintenance duct as Samus made her way into the area that Adam had referred to as _The Tropical Habitat_ , but so far there was no trace of the Yakuza droid, nor that figure in the Chozo suit. Obviously they had gone this way, since there were no other options, but honestly she wasn't in a hurry to find either one, given her current state.

The good news was that it was getting a little easier to move and breathe, but this was probably because her body was getting used to the agony, but even so, Samus would have to be extra careful now. That figure's beam weapon had punctured her suit, meaning that it was no longer safe to traverse toxic or submerged environments… not that she was in any condition to traverse them even if it _was_ safe.

At least the lights were back on now that she had restored main power, meaning that Samus would actually be able to see what she was doing, unlike whenever she had to rely on that infrared scanner. Seeing temperature differences was all well and good, but at the end of the day there was just no substitute for a good pair of eyes… at least where combat was concerned. Suddenly the pain shot across her chest, causing her to clutch it in pain, using her other hand to lean on the wall.

However, her free hand found nothing but air, making Samus lose her balance and tumble through a hole in the duct that she had almost gone right past without noticing. Thankfully, the ground was not too far away, and even better, Samus landed on a patch of really thick grass, which cushioned her fall. The pain in her chest was starting to recede again, allowing her to get to her feet, and as she looked around, she found herself in what appeared to be a vast jungle.

"Adam, I've reached Sector Two." She reported, still a lot of pain in her voice. "I don't know what they were trying to do here, but the whole place is completely overgrown."

She could see the metal surface of the area's walls and floor through spaces in between the roots and vines, but if this place had only been left unattended for three days, then those traces would soon vanish underneath the growth. A lot of these plants Samus recognized from deep within SR388, although she had never learned the names of them… if they even _had_ names, since she was probably the first person to see them since the Chozo.

" _I'm glad you made it, Samus_." Adam's voice replied. " _I know you're in pain, but there is no backup on this mission, so you will have to get back here on your own. To do this, you will have to make your way up through this sector, to its Control Center, where you will have to connect me to the local network_."

Apparently, even though main power had been restored, Dr. Dolan had somehow ensured that the bulkheads that linked each area of the station would remain locked down. Adam then remarked that the amount of security that Dr. Dolan had emplaced was astonishing, given that it had only been three days since normal operations had ceased, but Samus was more concerned with finding the scientist, himself. If he _was_ the cause of all this, she wanted to know why, and more importantly… why he had attacked her. The things he had said to her in the Silo, as well as the attacks from the two droids, made it sound like the two of them were enemies, but there was no reason to be.

" _Samus, I have tracked the Yakuza droid's location_." Adam continued. " _Your first priority is to get yourself to safety, but if you still wish to retrieve Dr. Dolan, then you are authorized to do so. However, I am having difficulty tracking the one who attacked you… I can clearly see Dr. Dolan's bio-signs, as well as the creatures around you, but your assailant's have completely vanished, and yours are erratic. I'm reading you in different areas of the sector, but this might be a side-effect of the Metroid Vaccine, or there still may be more damage to the sensors that I thought. Either way, be careful_."

"Don't worry, I will be." Samus replied, groaning as she took the first step forward. "Adam, did you say there were creatures around me… I don't see any."

Although overgrown with plants, the corridor ahead was completely devoid of animal life, even though the computer assured her that creatures, all from SR388, had her surrounded. So either they were planning some kind of ambush, which didn't fit their behavior from what she remembered… or they were hiding from something. Either way, this made it easier for her to move through the sector. Using her Auto-Mapper to follow Adam's route, she sometimes had to use her beam weapon to clear vines from doorways, and the pain in her chest became so great when climbing a ladder, that she nearly fell off.

"The vines are getting thicker." She reported, shooting more to clear the path. "I'm just about to the waypoint, though. Stand by."

Firing one more shot, the passage was cleared, and Samus entered a large open room that like all the others, was fiercely overgrown. However, instead of just seeing greens and browns, there was a large black object in the far corner. She had to wade through waist-high ferns and shrubs in order to reach it, and although partially wrapped in vines, she was able to recognize the Yakuza's mechanical body. The remaining legs had been sheared off, it had crashed sideways, and there were large pieces missing from the armor, but this was definitely the same machine from the Silo.

"I found it, Adam." Samus said as she opened the emergency hatch release. "Now I just…

Her words suddenly became a cry of surprise when she opened the hatch, and a man fell into her arms, knocking her down. He was breathing, but unconscious, with an unkempt beard, and clothes that had apparently not been washed in quite some kind. Still, even with the tired features, and dark circles under his eyes, Samus couldn't help but smile when she realized that it was Dr. Dolan that she was holding.

"I found him, Adam." She reported happily, trying to ignore the pain while rolling him onto the grassy floor. "He's alive, but he looks awful… I'm going to see what I can salvage from the droid, and then we'll be on our way."

" _Samus, you need to get out of there_." Adam's voice replied as she got to her feet. " _Now that main power has been restored, I have had a much easier time accessing the station's logs, and… just get back here as fast as you can… you're in great danger_."

Assuring the computer that she would move as quickly as she could, Samus returned her attention to the wrecked droid. The tiny cockpit was filled with wrappers from emergency rations, as well as empty water bottles, as if Dr. Dolan had been in there for quite some times. There were also spent injector cartridges that were labeled as Medical Stimulants, and there were _a lot_ of them… more than someone could survive taking over a span of only three days.

She was just about to ask Adam about this, when her eyes fell upon something that made her gasp. Just like with that B.O.X. droid that she had fought on the Control Deck, there was a familiar looking module installed into the controls. _Three_ of them, in fact, tied into the weapons and mobility systems. The first one that Samus removed was another upgrade for her beam cannon, and suddenly she felt a little safer once her suit's systems confirmed the _Charge Capacitor's_ compatibility. Now she would be able to fire blasts just like the droid had done, but she couldn't get excited yet, since there were still two more modules to install.

" _Samus, why are you still in there_?" Adam's voice demanded as she installed the next module into her torso. " _You need to get out of there right now… your bio signs are becoming easier to pinpoint, I think that means she's getting close_."

"All right, I'm going." Samus replied as she put the last one into her beam cannon. "Wait, why did you call that person a _she_? Did you learn something?"

Moving away from the wrecked droid, her suit was still performing checks on the _Morph Ball Module_ and _Bomb Circuit_ by the time that she had bent down to pick up Dr. Dolan. The good news was that both were compatible and even more of her old abilities had been restored… but the bad news was the sound of _thud-thud-thud_ that was coming from behind. Dropping down under the ferns, Samus gasped when she saw the figure march their way into the room… but what did that have to do with her own bio-signs becoming easier to detect?

So far it appeared that the figure had not noticed her, since they continued moving across the room toward the droid, so Samus took advantage of this distraction by slowly dragging the unconscious Dr. Dolan toward the door. According to the map, the Control Center was only a short distance away, once she backtracked and took another corridor, but that wouldn't matter if the figure spotted her before then.

"Richard?" The soft female voice called as the figure investigated the wreckage. "Richard? Come out… promise… not hurt… Richard?"

Suddenly Dr. Dolan started to move around, moaning softly while the figure spoke, but thankfully Samus was able to clamp her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. She was nearly back to the door now, and it looked like they were going to make it, when the figure suddenly dropped down underneath the ferns. They had turned into a Morph Ball like they had done before, and then Samus's breath froze when another Power Bomb was produced.

There was no more time to be stealthy, so she took the risk of being spotted, grabbing Dr. Dolan and jumping out of the room just as the weapon started to spin. The pain in Samus's chest tried its best to stop her from pulling him and herself around the corner, and then there was a brilliant flash of light from where they just where. The resulting explosion shook the whole area as fire and burned plants shot through the door, but this time Samus had not been caught in the blast. This allowed her to both get to her feet, and covered up the sound when she cried out in pain during the effort to drag Dr. Dolan toward the Control Center.


	15. Chapter 15 The SA-X

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Fifteen: The SA-X**

The overgrown corridors and stairwells were hard enough to navigate on their own, not to mention Samus's own injuries, as well as the fact that she was dragging along the still unconscious Dr. Dolan. The creatures that populated this sector chose to remain hidden for some reason, and thankfully the figure in the Chozo suit had not been see again since destroying the Yakuza droid, because she was not sure that she would have been able to deal with either one in her current condition.

"I'm almost to the Control Center." Samus said, groaning with pain as she dragged him. "Adam, please tell me the door's open."

" _According to my scans, yes it is_." The computer replied. " _But Samus, remember that you will need to connect me to the local network in order to be of any more help to you_."

The pain in her chest was getting worse, and the fatigue in her body seemed to intensify once the door to the Control Center was spotted, but that was probably psychological, like when a marathon runner sees the finish line in the distance. It took a lot of effort, but Samus was able to push open the door, and pull it closed behind her once they were inside. The lights and console were already active, since main power had been restored, so she used her suit to interface with the local network.

" _Excellent, Samus, I am stabilizing my connection with Sector 2 now_." The computer reported as she stumbled over to the first aid box on the wall. " _I am sealing the door you just entered; hopefully your enemy will believe that you were also unable to gain entry, and search elsewhere_."

She was only half-listening to him, being more concerned with the medical spray that she found after opening the box. Removing the cap and shaking it up, Samus aimed the nozzle at her chest and pressed it, but she was unable to keep herself from screaming in agony as the stinging chemicals coated her wound. This pain was caused by the sterilizing agents in the spray, but soon the numbing agents gave her some relief as the coagulants helped close the wound itself.

" _I am reading more stability in your vitals, Samus_." Adam said once the spray was done working. " _I strongly suggest that you return to the ship for proper treatment, but this, however, leads us to another problem. The primary hatch that allows access into and out of that sector has been locked down, as has the hub beyond. I can remove the lockdown from this console, but I will not be able to close it again, meaning that you will have to move quickly in case your enemy follows you_."

"That's a risk we have to take, Adam." Samus replied, closing the first aid box. "Richard and I both need treatment, and we can only get it by returning to the ship."

The computer told her to stand by, and then a short alarm sounded as the red indicator lights above the next door turned green, along with a hard _click_ from the lock disengaging. Now that the pain from her wound was cut in half, it was much easier to move with Dr. Dolan, so she carried him through the door, and into a large hub. There were five more heavy hatches in along the wall of this rounded room, each leading to numbered sectors, as well as a central elevator in the center. Lacking the time or the desire to explore the other sectors, Samus moved into the elevator, and started upward, revealing that she was back in the Quarantine Facility when the doors opened again.

She passed the heavily damaged Quarantine Bay as she retraced her original path, and made sure not to open the door to Sub-Zero Containment. Although everything was illuminated now, the station was just as quiet when she exited the facility, but it did allow Samus to see that both the common areas and docking bays were more heavily damaged than they had looked earlier. It was as if someone had been fighting a war across the whole station, and this made her wonder if it was all due to whatever was going on between Dr. Dolan and that mysterious figure.

The loading ramp lowered once she reached the ship, and an incredible feeling of relief came along with being back onboard. There was only one medical station, being that it was such a small ship, so Samus put Dr. Dolan into it first. She then set the scanner to begin diagnostics on him, before slumping down in the pilot's seat, and deactivating her damaged suit. Even though it was diminished, the Chozo technology would still allow it to repair itself while in standby mode, but as for her… she would have to wait for the medical station.

"Samus, I know that you are tired, and unwell." Adam's voice said as she tried to relax. "But I have some disturbing news… I believe that I have uncovered the identity of your mysterious attacker in one of the recovered logs… watch carefully, and prepare yourself for a shock."

The large monitor in front of her changed to show the image of a very excited looking Dr. Dolan as he scolded whoever was holding the camera for him about keeping it stable, and this report being of the utmost importance. They appeared to be in the same place where the last recording had been made, but this time there were no X Parasite samples on the table in front of him.

" _This is Dr. Richard Dolan_." He reported almost happily. " _And something incredible has happened… as we have discovered, the X Parasites have the ability to mimic their hosts to the point where they are almost indistinguishable… but take a look at this!_ "

He motioned for the cameraman to turn around, and when he did, Samus froze with confusion at what she saw. They were inside the main Quarantine Bay, but it was undamaged, and inside the largest containment pod was… _herself_?! Now, Samus knew that she had spent the past month in recovery at Galactic Federation HQ, but then how was she seeing herself in her old under-suit, feeling along the transparent walls of the pod with her hands as if looking for a way out?

" _Let me explain what you're seeing_." Dr. Dolan continued, moving back in front of the camera. " _This is not Samus Aran that you are seeing behind me… this pod was where I stored the pieces of her Varia Suit that had been infected with the X Parasites, and she appeared once the breakdown of their biological components was complete_."

Samus was now watching intently as the camera was moved closer to the woman in the pod, and if she didn't know any better, she would have sworn that it was herself standing there as the camera scanned over every inch of her body. The woman's eyes followed the camera once it passed in front of her face, and she started moving with it as if she were curious, seeming a little annoyed when Dr. Dolan got in the way again.

" _I call this specimen the SA-X_." He continued as the woman kept trying to see around him. " _This designation stands for Samus Aran-X Parasite, but I have decided to refer to her as Sami for short, and I shall continue to refer to her as such in all reports that follow_."

As hard as it was for Samus to take all this in, a lot of recent events were starting to make sense now. For one, why Dr. Dolan had attacked her, and also why he had called her Sami during their brief exchange. He must've thought that she was this _SA-X_ thing, which was why he had used both the B.O.X. and Yakuza droids against her.

" _Hello in there_." Dr. Dolan said, now turned around, lightly tapping on the pod wall. " _Are you able to understand me? Can you say 'hello'_?"

Dr. Dolan repeated the word _hello_ several times, very slowly and calmly, as if a parent trying to teach a child their first word, and Samus was surprised when _Sami_ opened her mouth to try. She seemed to be having trouble moving her mouth the right way, and the only sound she made was that of breathing for the first several attempts while he continued encouraging her.

" _H-h-h… hello_." Sami finally managed to say in a soft whisper. " _H-hello_."

" _Good, Sami, good_." Dr. Dolan replied with a smile.

The SA-X also smiled, apparently delighted with her accomplishment, but then she put her hand on the transparent wall in the same place where Dr. Dolan's was, and Samus found herself getting a little irritated as the recording ended after a few notes on the experiment. Another log began to play almost immediately, again beginning with Dr. Dolan approaching the containment pod, where _Sami_ was overly eager to greet him. She knocked on the transparent wall, and waved to him, grinning like an idiot, and making Samus's face heat up. She knew that it was stupid to feel jealous of this… _abomination_ , but it was still there.

" _Good morning, Sami_." Dr. Dolan said to her as another scientist helped him into a hazard suit. " _Today's part of this experiment is to demonstrate my theory that the X-Parasites, under the right conditions, might become more than just mindless consumers. My team and I believe, that given Sami's access to Samus Aran's sentience, she might be able to learn restraint… as well as maybe teach it to the others when the time comes. But to test this theory, I must place myself in what some might consider… danger_."

Once the suit was on, he walked over to the containment pod, motioned for the SA-X to step back from the access hatch, which she did, and then he opened it while the armed guards kept their weapons aimed. Dr. Dolan cautiously entered the pod, moving slowly as if approaching an animal, and the others closed the hatch the moment he was inside.

" _Hello… Richard_." The SA-X said, speaking much more clearly now. " _Good… today_?"

" _Yes, Sami, I'm feeling fine, thank you_." He replied, approaching her. " _Today, I was hoping to… Sami_?"

The SA-X was now looking past him as the station rotated so that SR388 was starting to become visible out the window. This seemed to excite her, and she walked toward it until stopped by the transparent wall. So she walked over to the hatch, but became frustrated when she was unable to open it on her own.

" _Out_." The SA-X said, returning to Dr. Dolan and pointing to the hatch. " _Out… home… want… home._ "

" _I know you want to go home, Sami_." He replied, putting his hands on her shoulders. " _But I can't let you out just…_

His words were interrupted as the SA-X balled up her fist and struck him in the face, knocking Dr. Dolan off his feet. The guards outside struggled to open the hatch while Sami dove on top of him, pinning his arms down with her knees and locking her hands around his throat while continuing to scream that she wanted out. Once the hatch was open, one of the guards aimed his rifle and shot her in the shoulder, allowing them to grab Dr. Dolan and drag him out when she screamed and fell over.

" _Hold your fire_!" He ordered once they helped him to his feet. " _Don't hurt her_!"

" _Don't hurt her_?! _Are you nuts, Doc_?!" The guard demanded. " _This thing just tried to kill you, so she should be taught a lesson_."

He turned and aimed his rifle again, but then the SA-X's body distorted for a second, refocusing to reveal that she was now encased in an exact copy of Samus's Varia Suit.

" _Oh… my… God_." Dr. Dolan said as she got to her feet. " _Sami, wait… this was all a misunderstanding, just…_

Aiming her beam weapon and firing, a hole was torn into the transparent wall as the blast tore through it, pulverizing the guard's body a second later. Alarms then started going off as the SA-X walked up to the penetrated wall, but her body was too big to fit through the hole. So she stood there for a second, before collapsing down into a Morph Ball, and dropping a familiar spinning object.

" _Evacuate the Bay_!" Dr. Dolan screamed as he ran for the exit. " _Everybody out! Get out before…_

Then there was a flash of white, and the video feed went to static.


	16. Chapter 16 A New Strategy

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Sixteen: A New Strategy**

This was all a little much to take in for Samus as the log of Dr. Dolan's experiments with _Sami_ ended with a Power Bomb explosion, and she was still trying to process everything when Adam turned off the view screen. From what she gathered, this _SA-X_ thing, or _Sami_ , or whatever she was called, was an X Parasite that was mimicking her after it had consumed the biological components of her Varia Suit, and apparently Dr. Dolan thought that it was a good idea to try and… what the hell was even the point of what he had been doing?

"Richard, what the _hell_ were you thinking?!" She demanded, turning to the still unconscious Dr. Dolan. "Why bother communicating with her? Why even let her live? What were you trying to do with her?!"

She wasn't even sure why she was so angry at him as she grabbed his shoulders, shaking Dr. Dolan in an attempt to wake him while the medical station's light beams continued to pass over his body. However, he was completely unresponsive, and although Samus considered punching him in the face, she resisted the urge to do so.

" _External stimuli will accomplish nothing, Samus_." Adam's voice said as she sat back down in the pilot's seat. " _Dr. Dolan is currently experiencing a common side effect of long-term stimulant use, known as a 'crash' to the layman, and he will likely not awaken until his body can naturally restore the chemicals that he has been using the drugs to augment. Oh, and you might want to see this_."

The view screen came back on, this time showing the internal scans of Dr. Dolan, and although Samus couldn't understand most of the data, she knew that the next thing the computer highlighted was the display of the doctor's DNA helix model. It looked normal enough, based on her limited knowledge of such things, but then the computer selected a small part of that DNA, making Samus gasp when it brought up an image of a small floating Metroid.

"Adam, what is this?" She asked, looking more closely at it.

" _A possible explanation as to why Dr. Dolan is the only survivor that we have encountered thus far_." The computer continued. " _Apparently, he used the same process on himself that saved you from being devoured by the X, and given the presence of multiple escaped X Parasites onboard this station… it is an understandable tactic. However…_

Suddenly a red light began beeping on the console, interrupting Adam, and prompting him to change the image on the screen from the scan of Dr. Dolan, to a map of the BSL Station. It was one of the biohazard containment sensors in an area that was labeled only as _4_ , but for some reason the map was unable to display anything beyond the route to the entrance.

" _Samus, we have a problem_." Adam said. " _Perhaps restoring power and lifting some of Dr. Dolan's lockdowns was not such a good idea after all. I am showing that one of the breeding environments, listed as the aquatic environment, has been forcibly entered by… you, Samus. This can only mean that the SA-X has infiltrated that environment, and unfortunately the region's sensors are starting to report abnormalities_."

"All right, I'll check it out." Samus replied, getting up again and sending an angry glance at Dr. Dolan. "I need to take a walk anyway."

When activated, her limited suit seemed to have completely repaired itself, and she was about to head down the loading ramp, when she discovered that it would not open. Figuring that it had simply gotten stuck, Samus pushed on it, and even tried the manual override switch, but nothing worked.

" _No you will not, Samus_." Adam's voice said. " _While I agree that the activities of the SA-X must be investigated, recent data has proven that your current suit and weapons are not going to cut it. Therefore, in your current condition, I will not allow you to confront this creature_."

"But she's _already_ inside a breeding environment!" Samus replied urgently. "I can't just sit around and let her do… _who knows what_ in there!"

Instead of lowering the ramp or continuing to argue with her, the computer simply shifted the map display over to the entrance of a sector that was labeled as _6_. Again, it was unable to display anything beyond the entrance due to Dr. Dolan's still existing firewalls, but then the image changed again to a huge amount of data that was scrolling too fast for her to read.

" _My reviewing of Dr. Dolan's research has revealed a possible answer_." The computer explained. " _His constant experimentation on the SA-X has apparently skyrocketed his research into Chozo technology, which explains how he was able to replicate the modules that you took from the security droids_."

"What are you saying, Adam?" Samus asked with less urgency. "That he was able to replicate even more Chozo technology?"

In response to her question, the image on the screen changed again to reveal an image that made her gasp with excitement and disbelief. It was a glowing orb with two rings moving in opposite directions around it as if they were planets orbiting a star, but if this meant what Samus thought it did, then her problems were basically over.

"That's a _Varia Suit_!" She exclaimed, pointing to it. "Are you telling me that Richard was able to replicate it?!"

" _Yes, and no_." The computer replied. " _All required data and schematics have been prepared, but according to the logs, the SA-X escaped before he could build a working model. The good news here is that your suit can probably recreate its own once you obtain the data… but the bad news is that the data required so much memory, that he had to store it on a secure server, and the only one available to him was inside a sector registered as a nocturnal environment._ "

All right then, Samus thought as she realized that she would have to retrieve the Varia Suit in Sector Six before heading to Sector Four, at least now she had some feasible way of accomplishing her mission. As for Dr. Dolan, she wasn't sure whether to kiss him for giving her back the Varia Suit, or punch him for allowing Sami to escape, so in the end she decided to just leave the ship.

" _Samus, there is more_." Adam's voice said as she headed back toward the Quarantine Facility. " _Although retrieving this upgrade should restore your resistance to extreme temperatures and provide more protection than your current suit, you must know that this is all it will do for you. Your weapons will not be enhanced, nor will any other of your lost abilities be regained_."

"I'll take what I can get, Adam." She replied sharply. "Regardless of how weak or strong I am, Sami needs to be stopped before she learns just how powerful that suit really makes her. Adam, when I was a little girl, the Chozo taught me to respect all life, and to only use their technology for what I truly believed was a good cause… Sami didn't have the same upbringing."

Samus wished that she could explain it better, but then again, how was she supposed to make a computer understand how terrifying the concept of the SA-X was? It was like having a twin sister who possessed all the same strengths that she did, but who was evil… so evil that she had acted sweet and innocent during Dr. Dolan's experiments, but then didn't hesitate to set off a _Power Bomb_ in a room full of scientists.

That, and the way she had acted around Dr. Dolan made so angry that her body temperature started to rise. Samus recalled seeing Sami smiling and waving happily to him when he approached her containment cell, but then threatened him with her beam weapon the moment he didn't do what she said. She had to admit that the possibility of fighting a mirror of herself had never actually crossed her mind, but there had to be a way to beat Sami.

" _I understand, Samus_." The computer said, causing her to roll her eyes. " _And I will give you some time alone to process your emotions… simply connect me to the local network when you arrive in Sector Six_."

Process her emotions? Samus thought angrily as she entered the Quarantine Facility. What, was that the computerized equivalent of a chauvinistic man telling her to stop being whiny? Gritting her teeth, she fired a few shots with her beam weapon into the walls of the Quarantine Facility, and responded sharply with the word _nothing_ , when Adam asked what happened.

Now at the junction that led to either the Quarantine Bays or the Breeding Environments, she turned right, and moved down the corridor until she reached the same elevator that she had used after getting out of Sector Two. It took her back down to the transit hub that she had seen earlier, and once again she was faced with a large circle of numbered doors. There was no reason to re-enter _Sector 2 (TRO)_ , and she wasn't equipped to enter _Sector 4 (AQA)_ yet, which left _Sector 1 (SRX)_ , _Sector 3 (PYR)_ , _Sector 5 (ARC)_ , and _Sector 6 (NOC)_.

"I'm at the transit hub to the Breeding Environments." She reported after letting out a frustrated sigh. "I'm about to enter Sector Six."

" _Excellent, Samus_." The computer replied, not acknowledging their previous tension. " _But be careful… my sensors are picking up some strange readings… temperature fluctuations that are there for a moment, but then gone during the next sweep_."

That _was_ certainly strange, Samus thought as she walked toward the corresponding door, but given the state of the rest of the station, it was probably just a malfunctioning heater unit or something. The door opened easily enough, now that power had been restored, and now all she had to do was use her suit to connect Adam to the local network. As before, the view screen reacted to the uplink, and soon a map of the sector was displayed.

"Connection successful." Adam's voice said as an area of the map was highlighted. "I have located the secure server where Dr. Dolan stored the Varia upgrade data… I have also discovered the source of the temperature fluctuations, and the results are… disturbing."

The view screen suddenly changed from the map, to an image of an X Parasite… at least it _looked_ like an X Parasite, but with a bluish color and a crystalline structure that Samus had never seen before. For some reason the image of this thing made her nervous, as if it were not a good idea to be near one, and the misty trail that it left in the air as it floated around filled her with dread.


	17. Chapter 17 Sector 6 (NOC)

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Seventeen: Sector 6 (NOC)**

For a moment as she entered Sector Six, Samus was worried that the power had gone out again, since the next area was literally just as dark as the docking bay had been when she arrived. There were a couple extremely dim points of light that she could just barely see going along the ceiling, but other than that there was absolutely no light at all, and then she remembered that this place was called the nocturnal environment, which made her feel like she had just had what some people called _a blonde moment_ for expecting there to be light.

It looked like she was once again going to have to rely on her infrared scanner, but when Samus activated it, she was startled by how much light filled her visor. Suddenly everything was bathed in an amber colored light, instead of simply having to see the temperature differences, and that was when she realized that the light was coming from the tiny points of light that she had seen along the ceiling.

"Looks like I'll be able to see, after all, Adam." She said, beginning to move down the corridor. "There's some kind of infrared floodlights in place, but at a temperature where I can still see everything around me."

" _Likely put in for the researchers, Samus_." Adam's voice replied. " _This way they can study the natural activities of creatures who live in complete darkness without disturbing them, and I would suggest that you continue to avoid disturbing anything at all until you've downloaded the Varia Suit data._ "

As she worked more and more with this machine, Samus realized two things: The first was what a condescending, unfeeling _prick_ he was, handing out orders like a pencil-pusher that was sipping gin from the safety of an air-conditioned office while grunts like her did all the work, and the second… was how much the computer was starting to remind her of her former CO, Adam Malkovich.

Malkovich had been just as stuffy and condescending, even going so far as to conclude every single mission briefing with _'any objections, Lady?'_ , to which Samus would reply with a thumbs-down gesture, showing both her lack of objections, as well as the fact that she _really_ didn't like being referred to as that. But he was gone now, along with many others who she had gotten to know over the years, and…

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a flash of movement just as she passed through a doorway into a large chamber. The walls, floor, and ceiling were now rocky, as if designed to resemble a deep underground cave, which made sense. And although the infrared floodlights gave almost perfect illumination, the movement that she had seen vanish around the corner had been black, meaning that whatever it was, it was cold.

"Adam, I've got something here." She reported, readying her beam weapon, and looking around as she walked. "I think it was one of those low temperature things that we saw on the monitor."

" _I believe that I am detecting it as well, Samus_." The computer replied. "However, the fluctuations are proving difficult to track, even with the station's sensors being back online. I suggest that…

Samus had to interrupt him as another flash of movement came into view, this time coming right toward her. It was reading as black, with a misty trail being left as it floated around, and it looked like an X Parasite, although about double the size. Reflexively aiming her weapon and firing, the shot struck the flying object, seeming to blow a large chunk out of it while knocking it off course.

It rolled in the air several times, before another small piece of its body was chipped off during its impact with the cave wall, but then it resumed its course for her as if nothing happened. Samus had no intention of giving this thing an opportunity to attack, so she aimed and fired again, hitting it with three more shots until the whole thing just shattered into a dozen pieces. The small black remains didn't move after hitting the floor, so she moved closer to investigate; her scanner registering them as having a temperature of well below zero degrees.

"Adam, what _are_ these things?" She asked, kneeling down for a closer look. "They look like X Parasites, but I've never seen ones like this before… not that I've seen a lot of them… and my beam seemed to hurt it this time."

" _Samus, maybe coming here was not such a good idea_." The computer replied. " _I have a theory as to what you are seeing, but I need you to touch one of the pieces in order to confirm my suspicions_."

That didn't seem like such a hard thing to ask, since the thing was clearly dead, so Samus placed her hand on one of the larger pieces, but then pulled immediately pulled it back, crying out in surprise and pain as it felt like her hand had been flash-frozen. It was hard to move her fingers for several seconds, but the feeling slowly came back as she cradled her hand, and she welcomed the warm rush of anger that she now felt toward Adam.

" _Samus, this is bad_." The computer continued. " _Apparently some of the X Parasites have somehow bonded their cellular structure with ice… but there are no low temperature areas registering in this sector, so does that mean that they came from the nearby Sector Five? And if so, to achieve this kind of change… were they in there 'before' Dr. Dolan locked the station down_?"

"You could've just _told_ me what you suspected!" Samus hissed as she shook her hand to regain the feeling. "Felt like my damn hand was turned to ice!"

The computer gave no sympathy in response to her pain, instead simply replying that now she understood the importance of avoiding these X variations, which he was now referring to as _X-Zeroes_. The one thing that she and Adam both agreed on was that she needed to hurry up and get the Varia Suit data, which should in theory protect her from being frozen by the X-Zeroes, and _maybe_ even Sami's Ice Beam.

So she kept moving through the cave system, ducking behind any cover that she could find whenever one of the frozen X Parasites came floating through, or sometimes using her Morph Ball function in order to sneak past them. It was slow going as Samus made her way through several chambers, and down service stairwells, but a slow pace was better than being frozen again.

"Adam, I'm moving into the lower levels." She reported as she moved down another staircase. "I think I'm getting close to the Data Server room. Strange thing is that I still haven't seen any of the creatures that are supposed to be living in this sector."

The computer started to reply, but Samus had to stop listening when another sound reached her ears. It was coming from above, sounding like the stairwell door was being opened, and then through the grated floor she could see a the feet of an orange colored suit starting to come down the stairs to the rhythmic sound of _thud-thud-thud_.

"Samus?" Sami's soft voice called as she continued down the stairs. "Samus… there?"

There was not even a snowball's chance in hell of her responding, so Samus tried to be as quiet as possible while making her way down the rest of the stairs. No matter how fast she moved, the SA-X's slow, rhythmic steps sounded like they were gaining on her, but she finally reached the bottom of the stairwell, where she had a choice between two doors. According to the route on her map, the one on the right would take her toward the Data Servers, but instead of using it, Samus loudly opened the door on the left, before going around and hiding behind the stairs.

Reacting to the sound of the door, the SA-X started running, leaping over the handrails each time she could, and reaching the bottom of the stairs within seconds. Without hesitation, Sami charged right through the door to the left, allowing Samus to use the loudness of the SA-X's movements as cover so that she could exit the stairwell through the other door. Letting out a long sigh of relief as she leaned on the door, she knew that she had to keep moving in case Sami came back, so Samus stayed crouched down as she moved through this latest cave system.

According to her map, the Data Server room was at the end of this area, but the place was filled with cargo crates, and other large supplies as if it were some kind of storage chamber. The cargo crates were easy enough to climb over, and once she was on top of the first one, all she had to do was leap over to the next, and so on. Soon she could see the door to the Server room, and there were only a few more crates to leap over… when one of the X-Zeroes came flying up from in between them while Samus was in mid-leap.

There was no time to react as the frozen X Parasite slammed into her left leg, making her fall down in between the crates, and the cold agony that was caused when the X-Zero was absorbed into her was so great that Samus was unable to stop herself from screaming at the top of her lungs. Her leg felt like it had been incased in ice, it was completely paralyzed, and she could barely move any other part of her body without having to cry out. Still, she couldn't stay there; she needed to get to the Data Server room so that she could stop this from happening to her, and Samus was about to start dragging herself between the crates, when she gasped after hearing the sound of a door being thrown open.

"Samus?" Sami's soft voice called as she was heard walking into the room. "There?"


	18. Chapter 18 The Varia Suit

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Eighteen: The Varia Suit**

Samus's heart was racing, but her leg was still completely unresponsive, leaving her unable to run or hide while the SA-X's rhythmic footsteps slowly searched the room. She could hear the _thud-thud-thud_ moving back and forth across the chamber, but only getting a little closer with each pass, as if Sami was canvasing every inch in order to find her. Biting her lip in order to keep from crying out again, Samus dragged herself so that she was mostly hidden in the shadow from one of the crates, assuming that the SA-X had the same visual abilities that she did.

"Samus?" Sami's soft voice called again. "Please… Samus… there?"

It was strange, as if the SA-X actually expected her to answer, but Samus did the opposite, staying quiet, and remaining perfectly still as the footsteps got steadily closer. Some of the feeling was starting to come back into her leg now, as if she had slept on it wrong and all the _pins and needles_ of the returning circulation were now assaulting her, making it hurt worse for a second any time it moved.

If Sami could somehow be stalled at the other end of the room for just a couple more minutes, then Samus might be able to hobble her way over to that last door where the lifesaving Varia upgrade data was waiting for her. Of course, there was nothing that she could do on her own, at least not without revealing her position, in which case she was screwed.

"Adam." She whispered into her receiver. "Adam, I'm cornered by the SA-X just outside the Data Server room, and I need some kind of distraction. Is there anything you can do from your end? Adam? Adam?!"

Oh, that was just _great_ , Samus thought. On top of being immobilized, and trapped in a room with the SA-X, _now_ something was wrong with her communications system. Okay, what she needed to do was stay calm, and try to figure out what her options were. First, she could try a surprise attack, but since none of her weapons were strong enough to actually damage Sami, this option was terrible.

Second, she could remain where she was, and hope that somehow Sami, who had all of Samus's strongest abilities, would walk right past her and continue on. However, if she was spotted, this option would become about as good as the first one, so that was out as well. The final option was to make a run for it, and since the others were all terrible ideas, this was the one she went with. There was no way for her to see where the SA-X was, due to all the cargo crates, but this also worked both ways, so Samus began crawling.

"Samus?" Sami's voice called again as she kept going. "Samus… last… chance."

Suddenly there was the sound of an energy weapon being fired, and Samus gasped as she heard one of the cargo crates exploding. Once the noise died down, everything got quiet again as the _thud-thud-thud_ as the SA-X's footsteps resumed, but then there was another energy blast, followed by another cargo crate being destroyed… and then another… and another… and another.

"Samus!" The SA-X screamed over the sound of yet another crate exploding. "Out… now!"

The feeling in her leg was coming back more and more, but she could still not move fast enough to keep Sami's literal path of destruction from gaining on her. The SA-X was still screaming her rage, and although the final door was in sight, from the sounds behind her, Samus knew that there was only a single cargo crate left between her and her pursuer. Looking back for a second, she could see Sami's orange and yellow suit through a small space between the crates… and now she was aiming her beam weapon.

"Richard?" The SA-X's voice said, suddenly soft again as she turned away. "What? … No… don't."

At first Samus didn't understand what was happening, but then she realized that Sami was speaking into her own copied receiver. She didn't understand why Dr. Dolan would be contacting the SA-X, but either way, it did provide her with the distraction that she needed in order to make a break for it. So she tried to get up, stumbling and crawling toward the door, and hoping with each step that Sami wouldn't turn around.

"No!" The SA-X said more intensely into her receiver as Samus carefully opened the door. "Richard… wait!"

Yes, she was curious as to what the conversation was about, but whatever it was, there was no way that it was more important than getting the Varia Suit data from the servers inside. So she just as carefully closed the door, activated the emergency locks, and turned toward the Data Servers. Everything was so much easier now that power had been restored, and since the system was still on, all she had to do was interface with the computer.

Samus was worried that she would have to search through the massive system in order to find what she was looking for, but apparently Dr. Dolan's research took up so much data that it was literally the only thing stored inside the system. Since her suit had been actually made by the Chozo, its data retrieval and processing speeds were _vastly_ superior to that of Human-made computers, and within seconds the download was complete.

Once the data was stored, her suit did the rest, and suddenly she began to feel warm. So warm, in fact, that it was almost like her Metroid-inherited vulnerability to cold no longer mattered. Her suit was also changing in outward appearance, becoming heavier and more durable, while shifting from a blueish color to a dull shade of yellow. According to what Adam had said, this data would make her no longer able to be frozen from within, but it was too bad that her weapons weren't upgraded as well.

"Adam?" She said, hoping her enhanced suit would fix the communication problem. "Adam, can you hear me? I've got the Varia Suit data, and it seems to be working, so you can tell Richard that I _almost_ forgive him… Adam? Adam, can you…

Suddenly the was a violent tremor through the floor and walls, making it feel like the whole station was shaking, and making Samus fall on her rear as alarms started going off. The bright flashes of light that appeared next were too intense for her infrared visor, so she turned it off, and discovered that it was from actual lights coming on. They were the typical spinning orange lights that accompanied any important alarm, but without Adam or access to a Systems Station, there was no way for her to find out what was going on.

" _Emergency in Sector Three_." An automated voice announced. " _Emergency in Sector Three… Reactor Cooling Unit malfunction_."

Well, the good news was that she now knew what was happening, but the bad news was that if any kind of reactor didn't get cooled down, the result was always the same… _meltdown_. And meltdowns usually meant explosions, which were especially bad for someone that happened to be trapped on a space station.

" _Emergency in Sector Three_." The automated voice said again. " _Initiating emergency backup coolant… failed. Activating secondary vacuum dump… failed. Reactor Cooling Unit malfunction… Reactor temperature rising… emergency maintenance teams respond… emergency maintenance teams respond... emergency in Sector Three_."

Too bad the computer didn't know that there was probably nobody left to respond, but it _did_ give Samus an idea. In order to see if there was anything she could do to stop the meltdown, she would first have to get past Sami… and the maintenance call made her remember about the maintenance ducts that needed to be installed with every computer. There was a locked duct on the far wall, and hopefully the alarms were loud enough to muffle her shot, because there was no other choice but to blast it open.

Once the grate was gone, Samus didn't wait around to see if the SA-X had heard it or not, instead becoming a Morph Ball, and rolling her way inside. It seemed that luck was with her for once, as the duct led her right back across the room where Sami was probably still searching for her, ending with another access grate at the stairwell. She wished that she would have found it beforehand so that she might have avoided getting her leg frozen, but the escape that it provided now was good enough.

Out of the duct and out of Morph Ball form, Samus ran up the stairs while the computer's automated voice repeated its warning, and once she reached the top, it appeared that the X-Zeroes that had been so intent on catching her before were just… gone. The cavern was empty as she continued running back through it, as was the next one. As strange as it was to not have creatures or X Parasites to deal with, she wasn't about to question such good fortune.

Instead, she just kept going, since it never took very long for a reactor to meltdown once all of its safety features failed, and hopefully once she interfaced with the computer in the Systems Station, Adam would be able to tell her what was going on. The door was just up ahead, and nothing seemed to be after her, so she ran up to it and pulled it open, only to freeze in place when she came literally face to face with the SA-X.

For several seconds she couldn't move, nor could Samus hear the alarms anymore as she stared wide-eyes into the cold, piercing eyes of her X Parasite duplicate. There was nothing she could do… nowhere to run… and no way to defend herself from the impending attack. However, as the seconds passed, Samus finally realized that the SA-X hadn't shot her yet. She was just standing there, looking just as wide-eyed as she did, almost like… almost like she was afraid of something.

"Samus." Sami's soft voice said as she put a hand on her shoulder. "Samus… help."


	19. Chapter 19 Sector 3 (PYR)

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Nineteen: Sector 3 (PYR)**

Samus found herself unable to move as the SA-X put her hand on her shoulder, and her mind barely registered that she was asking for help. Sami shook her a bit when she didn't respond, and that started her mind working properly again, but what could something as powerful as the SA-X _possibly_ need her help with. During this hesitation, the station's alarms and automated voice were still signaling the impending meltdown, but Samus was not about to try pushing her way past.

"Richard… there." Sami tried to explain, pointing toward the opposite door. "Sami… Samus… stop."

It was really hard to understand what the SA-X was trying to say, since her speaking abilities were bad enough on their own, let alone now that she was scared. Of course, Sami was the only speaking X Parasite that she had ever encountered, so it was better than nothing. That, and there was the danger of her getting too upset and just turning her Ice Beam on Samus.

"Okay, Sami, let me see if I understand." Samus said. "Are you saying that _Richard Dolan_ started this meltdown, and that you want me to help you stop him from destroying the station?"

Through her helmet visor, Samus could see the SA-X smiling as she nodded her head, and this gave her a terrible choice. On one hand allowing Dr. Dolan to destroy the BSL station would be a good way to eliminate the threat of these X Parasites, namely the one standing right in front of her, but it would also be condemning Dr. Dolan, herself, and any other survivors left on the station to death.

The other option was for her to go along and stop him, thereby saving everyone onboard… and probably getting attacked by Sami the moment that the danger was passed. In the end there was really no choice, since the SA-X would just shoot her if she refused, so Samus nodded her head, and Sami grabbed her by the hand, quickly leading her out of Sector Six, across the main hub, and through the hatch marked _Sector Three_.

It was becoming habit to stop at the Systems Station in order to get a basic map as well as guidance from Adam, however the computer hadn't been responding since before the Varia Suit data was downloaded. Samus had been constantly trying to contact her artificial CO, but there was nothing but static on the usual frequency, not that the SA-X was planning to stop there as she dragged Samus past the computer and through the next door.

"Sami, hold on a second." Samus said trying to slow down. "Sami… wait… what is the plan? How are we going to stop Richard?"

The next door had led into some kind of service tunnel, with heavy doors and monitoring panels on each side as if there was something really dangerous behind them. At least this area was well-lit, unlike the nocturnal habitat, but the SA-X still dragged her along, not responding to her words until Samus managed to pull her hand free.

"Samus… talk." Sami explained softly, turning around to face her. "Richard… trust… love… listen. Samus… save."

For a second Samus forgot that she was talking to the very parasitic killer that had copied her after nearly eating her alive, and instead just saw a woman who was genuinely afraid for her life. Maybe this was a sign that Sami really _did_ have intelligence… could this have been what Dr. Dolan had seen in her? Was this kind of emotional display the reason that he put the whole station at risk instead of just spacing her when he had the chance?

"Okay, we'll do this." Samus said as the computer repeated its warning. "But Sami, look… we don't have to be enemies. How about once we stop Richard, we, you know… call a truce or something? Then neither one of us has to get hurt."

The SA-X just looked at her through the visor, but then the station started to rumble a little more harshly, prompting Sami to grab her hand again, this time pulling her further down the tunnel so quickly that Samus nearly lost her balance. The service tunnel ended a short distance later at another heavy door, and Samus was glad that she already had the protection from the Varia Suit, because the blast of pure heat that forced its way into the room when she opened it was nothing short of incredible.

The super-heated air caused visible waves of heat to come off the metal within seconds, and when she followed Sami through the door, it was a bright yellow desert landscape that awaited her, minus the orange spinning lights. This time though, Samus thought she caught a glimpse of creatures scurrying away as if they were hiding. Well, that certainly explained why the breeding habitats had all bene so empty… all the creatures were instinctively hiding from the X Parasites.

The SA-X continued to pull her across the loose desert sand until they reached another heavy door, but as much as it was hard to believe, the air inside this winding stairwell beyond was even hotter, giving the stairs and guardrails a dim red glow. It was certainly a good thing that she had gotten the Varia Suit when she did, or Samus was fairly certain that her previous suit would have burned up an instant after stepping onto the hot metal.

Now starting to sweat, Samus wished that she could use her hand to wipe off her forehead, but the heat from naked exposure would have probably killed her, so she would just have to deal with the swat from her forehead dripping down into her eyes. Sami, on the other hand, seemed fine as she continued pulling Samus along. And why not? The SA-X had copied her abilities at full strength, and over the years Samus had trudged her way through places _a lot_ hotter than this.

"Adam." She said quietly into the receiver. "Adam, can you hear me?"

Again there was only static, but continually trying to contact the computer gave Samus something to keep her mind off the heat, especially when the stairwell ended. This next door opened into an area that was so red and orange that she couldn't even see if there were any spinning lights around. The heat was starting to make her suit display glitch, and it felt like she was walking through fire, making Samus glad for once that the SA-X was keeping up such a fast pace.

"There." Sami said, pointing to a door up ahead that was marked _CONTROL_. "Richard… stop."

Once this final door opened, the large control room inside was still rumbling like the rest of the station, but the temperature was lower. Not much lower, since Samus still felt like she was burning alive, but enough to stop her suit's systems from malfunctioning. Sami pointed up toward the catwalks on the second level, and there, standing at the controls, was a figure wearing a very familiar looking purple suit. It was the prototype that Dr. Dolan had worn on SR388, but now it looked different, as if it had been improved since then.

"Richard!" Samus called, stepping forward and coughing the dryness out of her throat. "Richard, it's me, it's Samus! You've got to stop!"

Dr. Dolan appeared to be ignoring her, so she moved over to the nearest ladder, and climbed up onto the catwalks. This time he saw her, raising his own beam cannon in reaction, but he appeared to have recognized her after taking a second look. Keeping her hands where he could see them, in case he was still unstable, Samus approached slowly, hoping that he wasn't about to shoot her.

"Richard, please, you have to stop this." She said calmly. "I know that you don't want to hurt anyone, and I know that you're scared, but you _have_ to stop the melt down, okay? Come back to the ship with me, and we can work together to find a better solution to this problem… doesn't that sound nice… just you and me?"

"Just you and me." He repeated nervously as the station shook more. "Samus, I want to believe that… I want a happy ending where you and me go riding off into the sunset… I love you, Samus… but I can't trust you… after all, you brought _HER_!"

Turning and aiming his beam cannon down to where the SA-X had been trying to hide out of sight, Dr. Dolan fired a long green bolt of energy that made Sami cry out when it struck her in the shoulder. Sparks flew, and a piece of her armor was dented inward as the SA-X was thrown backwards, but then she aimed and fired her Ice Beam, forcing Samus to hit the deck while Dr. Dolan leapt off the catwalk to avoid it.

Opening his cannon, Dr. Dolan fired a Super Missile at her in mid-air, the force of which knocked Sami on her face even though she got out of the way. Landing gracefully on his feet, he resumed firing the green energy which Samus recognized as her own Plasma Beam, and judging by the way the SA-X screamed when he shot her in the leg, apparently Dr. Dolan had successfully replicated it. However, as much a she wanted to see the two of them fight it out, it wasn't until Sami knocked him down with her own Super Missile that Samus realized that this was her chance to stop the meltdown.

Getting up, and running down the catwalk to the control panel, she used her suit to interface with it, discovering that Dr. Dolan had simply overridden and locked down the coolant safeguards. It was an easy thing to unlock and reinstate them, resulting in a loud _hissing_ sound as the emergency liquid coolant began to flow into the reactor while the hottest parts were exposed to the vacuum of space. The station stopped shaking, and the alarms fell silent as the red color in all the metal faded, allowing Samus to breathe a sigh of relief as she began to cool down as well.

"Samus, no!" Dr. Dolan screamed, turning to look at her. "We have to destroy the whole station, don't you see?! Sami isn't the only…

Using the distraction to stage her own attack, the SA-X jumped out from cover as her beam weapon finished charging, and then she interrupted his words by aiming at his back and firing. Coughing a large splatter of blood onto the inside of his visor as he was thrown forward, Dr. Dolan slid across the metal floor, prompting Samus to scream as she began firing her own ineffective weapons at Sami. The energy blasts and missiles that she sent out just bounced harmlessly off the SA-X's armor, but it did manage to distract her attention away from Dr. Dolan.

"Thank you… Samus." Sami said, aiming at her while charging her weapon. "Safe… goodbye."

Suddenly the SA-X gasped in surprise as a green plasma shot struck her in the arm, and then Dr. Dolan converted into a Morph Ball, left a trail of blood as he bounced up, and attached a Power Bomb to Sami's face. More blood was left as he rolled into a nearby open maintenance shaft, and then the bomb went off, making the SA-X vanish in a flash of light while Samus was thrown from the catwalks by the shockwave.


	20. Chapter 20 Bio Signs

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty: Bio Signs**

" _S… zzz… Sam… zzz… Samus_." A voice said through the static. " _Samus… zzz… you… zzz… you hear… zzz_."

Moaning softly as she struggled to open her eyes, all that Samus could see was a blur of colors and lights. Blinking repeatedly to try and clear it up, she was distracted by the ringing in her ears, and something was preventing her from sitting up. It felt like something was holding her down, and when her vision focused enough to see what it was, she found that a piece of the catwalks had landed on top of her.

Suddenly she gasped, remembering where she was and what had happened, and trying to move the catwalk piece before the SA-X… wait, where was she? Looking around the no longer boiling control room, Sami was nowhere in sight, and the alarms had all fallen silent. Dr. Dolan was gone, too, and although it was never a good feeling to have been completely ignored and left behind, in this case Samus would make an exception.

It took some effort, but she was finally able to free herself from the debris, and now she had to go after them… but what was she going to do once she caught up? It had already been known to her that Sami possessed all of her abilities at full power, but even with all of his research into Chozo technology, never in a million years would Samus have expected Dr. Dolan to have a _Plasma Beam_. That purple suit he had worn had been nothing but a shell when he used it on SR388, but now it came equipped with both Super Missiles _and_ Power Bombs?

" _Samus_." The same voice called, somewhat cleared up. " _Samus, can you hear me? What is your status_?"

"Adam?!" She exclaimed happily, getting to her feet. "Adam, is that you?! I thought you were gone!"

Although Samus personally didn't like the computer's gruff and stoic personality, it was nice to know that she wasn't alone, and it was _certainly_ better than listening to Dr. Dolan's ranting or Sami's broken speech. Turns out that when the doctor had awoken onboard the ship, and been filled in, he immediately attacked the A.I. core with one of the same firewalls that he had used to lockdown the BSL station, so that the computer couldn't warn Samus that he had taken off. This explained how Dr. Dolan had been able to get his weapons from… wherever they had been stored, and made it into the Coolant Control Room without being detected.

" _Then we are fortunate that you were able to stop him_." Adam said once she had filled him in as well. " _Dr. Dolan and the SA-X appear to be hell-bent on destroying each other, but unless you are somehow able to regain some of your more powerful abilities, I'm afraid that there is little you can do to stop either of them. Still, I will attempt to track their location, but in the meantime I need you to return to the Quarantine Facility_."

The computer went on to explain that Bio Signs had been detected in the upper levels of the Quarantine Facility, but with the station's sensors still partially plagued by Dr. Dolan's firewalls, it was impossible to tell whether or not they belonged to Humans. There was also the matter of Sector Four, since who knows what the X Parasites had been doing in the Aquatic Habitat since they invaded. However, the Quarantine Facility had already been mostly cleared out, so it made sense to investigate there first.

The open maintenance shaft that Dr. Dolan and Sami had used to leave the room allowed Samus to do so as well, and although there was a blood trail that could be followed, Adam sent her a map that would take her toward the sector's exit. As much as she wanted to track them down, she knew that the computer was right, and after following the prescribed route, Samus found herself back in the Systems Station when she finally exited the duct.

From there all she had to do was pass through the hub, and take the service elevator back up into the Quarantine Facility, but she had not ventured up into the upper levels during her earlier explorations, so it would have to be done slowly. Now that all the lights were on, it was easy to find the door to the winding stairwell, so she climbed up as quietly as she could, and then pressed up against the wall before hitting the button to open the door when she reached the top.

"Adam, I've reached the upper levels of Quarantine." Samus reported as she looked into the corridor. "Have you figured out what the Bio Signs are yet?"

" _I'm afraid not, Samus_." The computer replied. " _I can tell you, though, that there are four of them, moving back and forth in one of the last rooms... could be nervous survivors waiting for rescue… or could be X Parasites on patrol_."

With as blunt and heartless as Adam was about giving her information, she sometimes wished that he was a Human so that she could haul off and backhand him across the mouth. But, she knew that he was just a computer, and therefore incapable even understanding emotion, let alone _having_ any, so she decided to let it go as she moved into the corridor. Unlike the area below, this place was pretty well untouched; all of the lights were on, there were no blast marks on the walls, and most importantly… there were no bodies.

Had Sami simply missed this place when she led the X Parasites on a rampage against the station's scientists? If so, then this was a good indicator that there really were survivors on the station, and this gave Samus hope as she looked through every door window on her way down toward where the Bio Signs had been reported. Most of the rooms were empty; apparently used as isolation cells for specimens that were being studied, like smaller versions of the different habitats that she had seen.

Then she saw them. In the very last room, just as Adam had described, were four creatures moving around the grassy environment. They seemed to be playing; chasing each other around, then wrestling for a bit, and then starting the process again. They were strange creatures, indeed, but Samus recognized them. She had seen such animals on the planet Zebes, and they had actually helped her out quite a bit in her quest to recapture the last infant Metroid from the resurrected Mother Brain… but how had these creatures survived when so many others had not?

" _Dachoras_ and _Etecoons_." She said happily into her receiver. "The X Parasites must've missed them."

" _So there are no Humans then, Samus_?" The computer asked as she opened the lock. " _That is unfortunate… I am starting to think that you and Dr. Dolan are the only Humans that remain on BSL station_."

For a second Samus almost told him to not forget about Sami, but stopped herself when she remembered that the SA-X was nothing but another X Parasite that was mimicking its host. The realization that she had momentarily forgotten this fact made a knot form in her stomach, and also distracted her enough for the little creatures to run out when Samus pulled open the door.

"Wait, no!" She called out, scrambling to catch them. "No, don't run off!"

The little creatures jumped and rolled to avoid her hands, resulting in Samus taking a rather embarrassing and ungraceful fall on her face, while the Dachoras and Etecoons took off down the corridor. By the time she got up, and reached the stairs while running after them, they were already vanishing into the lower levels of the Quarantine Facility, and giving her no choice but to follow them.

"Adam, the creatures are running!" She said urgently, rounding to the second set of stairs. "Can you get a fix on their location?"

" _I'm trying to track them now, Samus_." The computer replied as she reached the bottom. " _There are still a few lingering effects from Dr. Dolan's firewalls, so readings are erratic, and… wait a moment… there. I'm reading a concentrated Bio Sign in the far corner of the room at the end of the corridor when you turn right_."

Following his directions, Samus ran through the door, turned right, and headed down the familiar looking corridor. Approaching from this angle, there was only a single door at the very end of this section, and she was about to go through it, when the sign on the wall made her stop. Written on the plaque in dark blue letters, which she wished that she could have seen during her first trip to this facility, were the words:

 _DANGER_

 _SUB-ZERO CONTAINMENT_

 _AUTHORIZED ACCESS ONLY_

A chill ran down her spine as Samus remembered when she had accidently stumbled into this room before, when the cold had torn right through her suit and was so painful that it made her scream like a twelve year old girl. Of course, _this time_ she had the Varia Suit data installed, and since it had _mostly_ protected her from the extreme heat of Sector Three, there was no reason that it shouldn't do the same for the cold.

Now she felt kind of bad for the little creatures, since they had probably ran into that room to hide, and were now huddled in the corner to stay warm. Hopefully now they would be a little easier to capture, and once they realized that she meant them no harm, the best place for them would be back onboard the ship. So Samus opened the door, and was hesitant as she slowly stepped inside.

The temperature was well below freezing, since frost was already starting to form on her visor, and although it made her tense and nervous to even be around all the ice that covered the walls, the Varia Suit seemed to be holding up just fine. The whole chamber was blue and white colored, with the walls coated with ice, and stalactites hanging down from the ceiling. So far there was no sign of the little creatures, but there _was_ something in the back of the room… something that made her stop in her tracks when she realized what it was.

It was Ridley… or rather, the frozen body of Ridley, her winged enemy whom she had finally defeated for the last time on planet Zebes after a ten year rivalry. His whole body, wings, tail, head, _everything_ was covered with ice, but he was still such a large and powerful creature that it made her feel nervous just being around him again. She had a strong urge to shoot the frozen beast, or maybe kick it or at least rub her victory into his frozen face, but instead she found herself gasping as a sound reached her ears… a horrible sound, that was confirmed when she saw something that was impossible.

The ice that encapsulated Ridley's body… was starting to crack.


	21. Chapter 21 Neo Ridley

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty One: Neo Ridley**

"Oh, no." Samus whispered, backing away from the cracking ice. "No, no, no, don't break, don't break."

But still more cracks formed in the ice that encased her old rival, Ridley, but as far as she knew, he had finally died last time she was on Zebes. Of course, that had never stopped the giant, winged lizard from reappearing at the worst possible times before… and this was certainly the worst possible time. If he was actually dead underneath that ice, than there was nothing to worry about, but if he wasn't…

There had to be some kind of temperature control gauge in the room to prevent the temperature from getting hot enough for anything to melt, or in this case, escape. So she looked along the walls, but there was nothing in sight, and then she was out of time. The ice around Ridley's body exploded, making Samus instinctively cover her eyes as the bluish white shards flew past, but then the winged lizard's body collapsed into a hundred frozen pieces.

She just stood there, looking at the frozen remains of her enemy for several seconds, before letting out a nervous laugh that was followed by a long sigh of relief. Maybe for once luck was on her side, since with the X Parasites, Sami, and Dr. Dolan to deal with, the last thing she needed was for…

Suddenly her sigh became a startled gasp as some kind of liquid substance began to seep its way out of the remains, bonding together to form an X Parasite, the likes of which she had never seen before. It was purple colored, and even larger than the X Zeroes that she had encountered in Sector Six, but there was something else… there was a kind of solidified barrier around it that looked like some kind of improvised protection.

This giant X Parasite hovered in the air for a few seconds, but then it distorted like the ones she had seen in Dr. Dolan's logs, getting even larger, and coming back into focus to reveal that it was no longer just an X… it was _Ridley_. Samus's mouth ran dry as the lizard's wings slowly beat so that it continued hovering, but then its head turned so that her own image was reflected in its large red eyes. She knew that she wasn't in proper shape to face it, if this X Parasite had already gained the use of Ridley's abilities, but maybe she could seal it inside.

This… _Neo Ridley_ was just staring at her, breathing slowly as she took one careful step backwards toward the open door. It started to growl on her second step, which meant that an attack was probably coming, so Samus opened her cannon, firing three missiles at the beast before making a run for it. The small missiles struck it in the torso, making Neo Ridley grunt with discomfort, and it responded by opening its mouth, sending out a large, flaming projectile that slammed into the door just as she was closing it.

The blast shattered the door into a thousand pieces, with a shockwave that tore the pain off the nearby walls, and sent Samus flying backwards. Her head slammed into the corner of the next wall as she crashed to the floor, and rolled to a stop. The Varia Suit upgrade gave her enough extra protection to survive the hit, but now she was dizzy, and her ears were ringing for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Still, even through the ringing, she was able to hear Neo Ridley's distinctive high-pitch roar, and that meant it was about to come after her.

Ignoring the dizziness as best she could, Samus leaned on the wall as she got to her feet and started toward… where was she going to go? A sudden gap in the wall, made her fall onto the stairs that went up to the isolation cells where she had found the surviving creatures, so she took it as a sign, stumbling up the stairs just as Neo Ridley was heard charging out of the Sub-Zero Containment chamber.

"Adam, we've got a problem." She whispered as she scrambled up the stairs. "It's Ridley!"

" _Ridley_?" The computer asked. " _Samus, records indicate that the Space Pirate leader designated Ridley, died on planet Zebes during a confrontation with you_. _His remains were retrieved and sent to the BSL station for study, but I can assure you that he is quite dead_."

It was awkward to try and explain to him that it wasn't actually Ridley, but an X Parasite that was _mimicking_ him, and even harder to do it while rushing down the isolation room corridor while being able to hear the beast's clawed feet making their way up the stairs. Out of desperation, Samus rushed into one of the cells, closing and relocking the door behind her. Then she got on the floor, pressed up against the door as flatly as she could, and waited.

It didn't take long for Neo Ridley to reach the upper levels, and then its movement speed slowed down as it walked down the hallway, stopping to check each door. Thankfully most of the others were still locked, aside from the one that she had opened earlier, meaning that the beast wouldn't know what room she was in just by the lock. But it was unnerving when she saw the shadow of its large head appear in the observation window above her, and Samus's mouth ran dry when it tried the lock.

"Adam, I need another way out of here." She whispered when the beast moved on. "Ridley knows I came up here, and he won't give up just because he can't see me. Are there any other ways to get out of these rooms in case of, say… someone got trapped in one accidently?"

" _There should be an emergency system in place, so long as Dr. Dolan didn't lock that down as well_." The computer replied. " _You're in luck, Samus; there is an emergency maintenance hatch, hidden behind one of the wall panels… however, so that the isolated specimens never escaped, the panel must be deliberately destroyed_."

When someone said deliberately, for some reason it always meant _loud as hell_ , which also meant giving away her position to Neo Ridley. Well, the good news was that there were only a couple of wall panels toward the back of the cell, so she waited until Neo Ridley was a good distance away, and activated the charge capacitor of her beam weapon. The augmented shot blasted the hell out of all three panels, revealing the emergency hatch, but it also alerted the beast, causing him to roar and follow the sound.

It's shadow appeared on the wall when the beast reached the door, roaring loudly while Samus pulled open the emergency hatch, and she had just climbed through when an exploding projectile was released, destroying the isolation room door. She had just pulled her legs through when Neo Ridley's arm followed, nearly grabbing her if she hadn't been so quick to crawl away, and then the floor was just gone.

Missing the ladder, as well as the edge of the landing completely, Samus tumbled down the shaft, crashing to the floor just as another projectile exploded above. She needed to get out of there before Neo Ridley tore up the entire station, and herself along with it, so she scrambled down the service duct, locating another hatch at the end, and coming out… right at the bottom of the stairs she had just gone up. Neo Ridley was there as well, roaring and leaping at her, but Samus launched another missile, hitting the beast in the mouth, and distracting it just enough to make it miss when it went to grab her.

Shrinking down into a Morph Ball to avoid being crushed by the beast, she rolled down the corridor, hoping to lure it into the docking bays where there would be more room to fight or hide, but realizing once it was too late that she had gone the wrong way. In her desperation to get away from the beast, Samus had started back toward the service elevator, and the only place to go from there would be the breeding habitats.

Well, it was too late now, so she rolled into the still open service elevator, changed out of Morph Ball form, and hit the button just as Neo Ridley was opening its mouth. The doors closed, and the elevator started moving just as the projectile was launched, but then the whole thing rocked violently sideways before the lights went out, and the elevator was sent into freefall. Thankfully the main hub was only a couple floors, and Samus braced for impact by getting back into a Morph Ball.

A few seconds later the elevator came to a crashing halt that resulted in the doors being ripped off, and the Morph Ball being sent bouncing out a lot harder than Samus expected, ending with her laying on her back just outside the elevator. She was in the middle of catching her breath, when Neo Ridley's head appeared in the top of the elevator shaft, trying to squeeze its body down to continue coming after her. But it was too big, so after a couple attempts, and getting angry at her attempts to hurt it with missiles, the beast's body distorted, reverting to the giant X Parasite in order to fit.

Firing a missile at its barrier wall, the X Parasite spun and collided with the wall when a part of it was blown apart, but in response it rotated to where some kind of large… eye… was exposed, and launched the same kind of projectile that Neo Ridley had been using. The explosion sent Samus rolling, and the X tried to revert back into Neo Ridley again, but the shaft was too small, forcing it to continue on as it was.

Realizing that this was her only chance, Samus started firing missiles at it, blasting pieces off of its barrier wall, while trying to avoid its projectiles. By the time the X had reached the bottom of the shaft, there was barely anything of its protection left, so it fired another projectile at her, which Samus avoided by leaping over it. It exploded on the wall behind her, but she ignored it while running right for the exposed X Parasite, tackling it to the floor, and grabbing it through what remained of its protective barrier.

Like the other X's, with the exception of the frozen X Zeroes, it tried to get away once it realized that she could absorb them, but Samus held on, wrapping herself around it until the squirming, struggling X Parasite had been fully absorbed into her body. As before, her wounds and fatigue were erased by this process, but this time something different happened. Her suit was registering a data transfer, even though there was no computer nearby, but that detail was forgotten once the transfer was complete, and she realized what it was.

"Adam, you're not going to believe this." Samus said, almost in disbelief herself. "But I think I just downloaded _Super Missiles_."


	22. Chapter 22 Sector 4 (AQA)

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Two: Sector 4 (AQA)**

" _Super Missiles… from absorbing an X Parasite_?" Adam asked in response to her declaration. " _Well, Samus, this is certainly… unexpected. However, even with your enhanced suit and missiles, I do not recommend further attempts to combat the SA-X… it could still be too powerful_."

As much as she hated to admit it, Samus knew that the computer was right. Of course, if she were able to get the data from Dr. Dolan's suit, it would be a different story, but the scientist was still missing, as was Sami. Then again, maybe if she found another one of those really big X Parasites, she could restore more of her lost abilities on her own, but since she had only seen one of those… those… _Core_ X Parasites, that was a pretty big _if_.

" _Still, your recent improvements are just what we need_." The computer continued. " _There is still the matter of the disturbances in Sector Four, also known as the Aquatic Habitat. I can no longer read the activity that was detected earlier, so get to the Systems Station, and uplink me to the local network_."

In all the excitement that had happened since she had first entered the breeding habitats, Samus had forgotten all about the disturbances that were detected in Sector Four, so since she was already in the main hub, she opened the hatch into the sector's Systems Station, and uplinked Adam, allowing a local map of the area to be displayed on the room's monitor. But unlike all the other sectors, this one was showing _dozens_ of error messages all over the map.

" _All right, Samus, my connection has been established_." Adam said as more data began to move across the screen. " _Apparently this sector has sustained significant damage, mostly to the structural integrity of the holding tanks. I'm reading shallow to moderate flooding in most areas, but I am detecting no trace of you… that is, the SA-X_."

Well, this was a nice change of pace, Samus thought as more data was received and processed. Since Sami was nowhere to be found, and the other X copies that she had encountered so far were no match for her Varia Suit and Super Missiles, the first thing she needed to do was find a Pumping Station, and drain out the flooded areas. Then she could do a proper assessment of the sector, and…

" _Samus, there was one other thing_." The computer said as a large image appeared on the screen. " _Records indicate that this sector is home to a rather large and violent creature that the scientists have named Serris_."

The image looked like a really big, armored sea serpent, but two things about it concerned her. The first was the size of its teeth, and the other was the speed that the researchers had clocked it as being able to travel, which _had_ to be a mistake. It was unbelievable that something that size and weight could move _that_ fast, but she would have to be careful just the same.

"So what about it?" She asked, taking a closer look at the screen. "This thing didn't get _loose_ , did it?"

" _Unknown_." Adam replied. " _I can only say that it is a very valuable specimen, and although you are authorized to destroy it if absolutely necessary, if it has gotten out of containment, it is preferred that you simply return Serris to its enclosure_."

There was no use in arguing with this machine, so Samus just shook her head. It was hard to believe that after everything that they had seen so far on this station, the machine would be concerned about BSL losing a little money, instead of the dozens of researchers who had been killed by the X Parasites. Of course, Adam _was_ a machine, so this behavior was not surprising, but it was still hard for her to remember sometimes that he wasn't the Adam Malkovich that she had once known.

Leaving the Systems Station behind, she traveled down a short corridor, and through another door, gasping when a spark of electricity erupted right in front of her. Although the lights were on, half of them were destroyed, with most of the others hanging down by exposed cables, giving the area creepy moving shadows as the remaining lights swayed back and forth. There were also huge cracks in some of the walls, as if something large had repeatedly crashed into them, and from those cracks, a good amount of water was pouring out.

"Adam, this place is _wrecked_." She reported, starting across the catwalks that spanned the upper parts of this sector. "I've got partial lights, but _a lot_ of flooding damage, and I'm reading an electrical current in some of the flooded parts."

" _I see it, too, Samus_." The computer's voice replied. " _Thankfully, your route to the pumping station will keep you on the catwalks all the way there. Then, once you've activated the secondary pumps, you will be able to use the maintenance ducts to bring you right to Serris's holding tank_."

Well, at least she didn't have to get into the water, especially since the voltage reading on her suit's sensors showed that it could still be fatal for her even with the Varia Suit's added protection. The local map showed her where to go, so she was crossing over a flooded section, when the sound of bubbling water reached her ears. Opening her cannon, with Super Missiles ready, Samus looked over the side, but couldn't see anything but the surface of the water.

Suddenly something struck the wall, making the whole area shake, and nearly causing her to fall over the edge if she hadn't grabbed the guardrail at the last second. Once again the movement down in the water was gone, but there was still a sound… a sort of _cracking_ sound that was getting closer, and then she saw that it was because there was another large crack forming in the wall right next to the catwalk. Grabbing onto the guardrail tighter as the crack spread, the splitting stopped once it got higher up than her head, and Samus let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed.

"Adam, this place isn't safe." She reported, starting to move on. "But there is…

Then the wall exploded open, making Samus reflexively shield her face with her arms when the pieces of concrete and steel flew past, but there was no way to protect herself from the jet stream of water that followed. Since she was still covering her face when it hit, she was caught completely off guard, and the force of the water was so powerful that it threw her backwards into the other guardrail, where she tumbled over the edge.

Thankfully, the water coming in wasn't electrified, but the stuff down below sure was, crackling and sparking as the level was raised a couple inches by this latest addition. As she fell, Samus was able to grab onto the catwalk itself, and good thing too, because the surface of the electrified water was less than a meter below where her feet were dangling. Once the initial surge of water from the newest crack was over, she was able to climb back up, but with new cracks forming every few seconds in different places around the area, the water continued to rise.

" _Samus, what happened_?" Adam's voice asked as she got to her feet. " _Samus, what is your status_?"

"I'm okay, Adam." She replied, looking over the edge again just in time to see something vanish under the surface. "But this place is coming apart, I've got to stop the flooding, or anything left alive in here will be killed by the electrical current."

There was no more time to be careful, so she took off running down the catwalk, stopping only for a moment when she heard something splash behind her, followed by what sounded like a kind of roar that was quickly cut off. Super Missiles ready, she stayed low as she moved over to the edge, and this time she fired into the water. Unlike the standard missiles, these did not fizzle out upon hitting the water, instead becoming more like torpedoes that traveled downward until exploding when they reached the floor.

The explosion caused a flash of light to surge through the water for a second, and in that second Samus saw the shadow of something enormous as it moved silently through the area. Whether or not it was that Serris thing that Adam described, she couldn't be sure, but with the water still slowly rising, she had to act fast. Now sprinting down the catwalks, and not stopping for anyone or anything, Samus followed the map, but found it increasingly difficult to stay on her feet with even more impacts to the structures below.

It seemed that whatever was down there causing the destruction didn't want her to make it to the Pump Room, but it seemed to back off for a little bit at a time with each Super Missile that she blindly fired into the water. Samus didn't know whether or not she was hurting it, or even hitting it, but right now the important thing was stopping the water… water that now sparked and crackled against the bottom of the catwalks. The soles of her boots were insulated, but that wouldn't help her once the water level got above them, so she ran and ran until finally the door to the Pump Room was in sight.

Shoving her way through, and then shutting the door behind her, she ran over to the pump control system, and used her suit to interface with it just as the electrified water was starting to flow into the room. The machines came to life, and showed that they were working, and this caused the water to stop rising just before it would have gotten over her boots. It remained where it was for several seconds, but then it actually began to recede, flowing back out into the main area just as a loud, echoing roar filled the room. Apparently that large creature wasn't happy about what she had just done, and judging by the way it was now crashing into the walls… it probably wasn't a good idea to go back out that way.

So she looked around for the maintenance hatch that Adam had mentioned, opened it, and used the Morph Ball system to follow the tunnel just as another, much louder and closer roar was heard.


	23. Chapter 23 Serris

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Three: Serris**

Eager to leave the source of the crashing and roaring behind, Samus followed the maintenance shaft as far as it would go, and then had to revert out of Morph Ball form in order to use the ladder at the end. According to Adam, this route would take her close to the area where the Serris creature was kept, and once she verified its status, she would be able to leave the sector.

" _Good work, Samus_." The computer's voice said as she climbed. " _I'm reading a significant drop in water levels all across the sector, and you seem to be on course for Serris's holding tank_."

"That's good to know." She replied, taking a break once she reached the top of the ladder. "Any news on Richard or Sami?"

Unfortunately the computer had nothing new to give her regarding them, since many of the stations sensors had never been reactivated. There were erratic readings of Samus in several sectors, but this had to be a sensor glitch since there were only two of them, and it seemed that Dr. Dolan had simply vanished all together after escaping from Sector Three.

" _There was one other thing, Samus_." Adam added. " _A number of small creatures have recently boarded the ship… they don't appear to be hostile, and after determining that they are not X hosts, I allowed them to stay_."

"I wouldn't worry too much about _them_ , Adam." Samus replied as she started walking down this much larger shaft. "Who knows, they might even be helpful… when I was on Zebes the second time, I ran into similar creatures, and they…

Suddenly the floor underneath her collapsed, turning Samus's words into an outcry of surprise as she fell through, and there was nothing to grab onto or to stop her from crashing into the water below. She sank like a rock, and without the gravity systems that her old Varia Suit enjoyed, it was suddenly a lot harder to move around. Her diminished suit still managed to keep the water out, and the visor gave her a clear view of everything around her, but the auto-mapping system showed that this was an enclosed rectangular room, and not a wide open flooded area.

" _Samus, are you all right_?" The computer's voice asked. " _You seem to have taken a rather unexpected shortcut... but there are no hatches or access points in that area_."

"I fell through the _floor_ , Adam." Samus replied, slightly annoyed. "But I'm fine, I just… just gotta find a way out of here since I don't have any enhanced jumping abilities anymore."

This was good, since that big thing was still swimming around the flooded sections, but she still needed to find a way out of there. So she looked around, trying to find where the walls, or maybe a maintenance ladder were, but then her eyes widened at what she saw next. It was a skull… a huge, oddly shaped one with a large jaw and sharp, pointy teeth. And behind it was a trail of smaller segments, each one progressively smaller than the last as if it formed a tail section.

"Well, I think I found your creature." She reported as a shadow suddenly moved over her. "Looks like the X Parasites got it, and _HOLY SHIT_!"

Turning around in mid-sentence, Samus found that the source of the shadow was a very big and long creature, with her outburst being caused by its rapid approach with jaw completely open. Trying her best to jump out of the way as Serris dove at her, she only managed a slight sideways turn, and although the creature's head struck her in the side, this movement was enough to keep it from devouring her as it swam past.

"Adam, find me a way out of here, _now_!" She yelled, opening her beam cannon as the creature turned around.

Firing a volley of Super Missiles at it, Serris easily twisted and wound its body to avoid the projectiles, and as much as Samus hoped for it, their detonations didn't destroy the walls of the holding tank, either. This left her trapped down there with the creature for the moment, so she kept firing as it got closer and closer. Attempting to dodge its waiting mouth again, her aim was off with the last missile, causing it to explode when it struck the floor, throwing Samus backwards while Serris spun sideways before crashing into the wall.

The impact was a lot harder than she guessed, the whole room shaking as a few small cracks formed in the wall, but the creature recovered in a matter of seconds. So Samus kept shooting, driving it back with a few detonations, but now no matter how hard she tried or where she aimed, she had no luck driving it into any of the walls again. It was just too fast and agile, while probably learning its lesson about the walls the first time, but that crack seemed to be the only way out.

That was when a _really_ stupid idea entered her mind, but it was also the only idea she had left, unless she wanted to wait for Serris to eat her once she got tired. So after taking a deep breath, and trying to convince herself that it wasn't suicide, Samus held the creature back with a few more missiles… before moving right in front of the cracks in the wall. As expected, the creature came right for her now that she wasn't shooting at it, but this time she didn't move.

All she could do now was hope that her suit was strong enough to survive the impact, and then she braced herself, trying and failing to grab onto the top of the creature's jaw as it slammed into her. For a moment there was overwhelming pressure as Serris's head forced her up against the wall, but then the cracks expanded, allowing both she and the creature to crash into the next area. However, since she had failed to grab and keep control of the creature's mouth, she had been partially pulled into its waiting maw, where two of its teeth, one each, had pierced her suit, making Samus scream when they punched into her legs.

Her first instinct was to fire another Super Missile at the beast, and she struck it right in the head, and the good news was that it was enough to make it let go of her legs. The bad news, however, was that the blast threw her backwards, causing her visor to slam into the corner of a broken stairway handrail. It didn't penetrate her helmet completely, but it was enough to cause cracks to form in her visor, allowing water to enter her suit there, as well as through the legs as the area was flooded by the water from Serris's holding tank.

It was only about two meters deep, but without the use of her legs, there was no way for her to stand up, allowing more and more water in while the creature struggled to move around in this shallow depth. As soon as it could, Serris came after her again, but less water meant less maneuverability, making it far less able to avoid Samus's missiles when she started shooting. The creature tried to dodge them, but got caught between two large machines, making it roar as it was hit right in the face for a second time.

She didn't let up, shooting it again and again, blowing pieces of its face off with each hit from the powerful Super Missiles, until it finally roared one last time before its body distorted. Like with Neo Ridley, it was changed into one of those really large X Parasites with the protective barrier, but this one didn't continue the attack. Instead it turned away and flew off, vanishing back through the wall of the holding tank and up out of sight as the water in the room started to recede.

By this time the water had almost completely filled up her suit, making her have to hold her breath until the water lever had gone down far enough to be able to pull her helmet off. This caused a second, although smaller surge of water to flow through the room as her suit was emptied, and Samus coughed to catch her breath before looking down at the blood that was coming from her legs. This meant that there was no way for her to go after that X Parasite, and that it would soon reform as Serris again.

That would have to be dealt with later, though, since right now Samus could only use her arms to drag herself across the floor, and she needed to get back to the ship for medical attention. There was a first aid box on the wall, like the one she had used to dull her chest wound in Sector Two, so she crawled toward it, a tear coming out of her eye from the pain, and she was about halfway there when she heard the nearby door opening.

All sound seemed to fade from the room except for the sound of an approaching _thud-thud-thud_ , causing her breath to become random frantic gasps while silent tears began streaming from her eyes. She tried to get her helmet back on as the steps got closer, not that it would help against the SA-X's Ice Beam, but it slipped from her shaking hand, and she nearly passed out when the foot of a remarkably Chozo suit came to rest on the ground right next to her face.

There was nothing she could do; fatigue setting in from both getting thrown around by Serris, and losing blood through her legs. She couldn't even roll over in order to fire another Super Missile, since her beam cannon was pinned underneath her, so she shut her eyes tightly, waiting for Sami to end it, but then the footsteps moved away. In fact, when Samus opened her eyes, she saw that they were headed over to the first aid box… and that where Sami's suit was orange and yellow… this one was _purple_.

"Richard?!" She called out weakly.

"Try not to move, Samus." Dr. Dolan replied as he opened the first aid box. "From how pale your face is, I'd say you've lost some blood… or you thought I was Sami."

He grabbed the same spray that she had used to seal her wounds before, and Samus knew that this had to be done, no matter how painful it was, so she deactivated her suit as he shook up the can. The generic warning about how bad it was going to hurt was an understatement, and then Dr. Dolan put his hand over her mouth as he used the spray on her leg wounds, both muffling her screams of agony and pinning her down so that he could spray the second one as well.

Finally the torment came to an end when Dr. Dolan set the spray down, but now that she was getting a chance to rest, the fatigue was becoming overwhelming. So much in fact, that she was aware of him picking her up off the floor, but then she couldn't keep her eyes from closing.


	24. Chapter 24 Restricted Area

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Four: Restricted Area**

Samus wasn't sure just how long she had been unconscious for, but when her eyes finally opened, it was clear that she was no longer in Sector Four. The walls, ceiling, and floor of this place were all painted sterile-white, as was all of the testing equipment and monitors that were around the room, and even the hospital bed that she was lying on. The wounds on her legs from Serris's teeth had been completely healed, although the holes remained in her undersuit, but it was a struggle to remember how she had gotten there in the first place.

She remembered being bitten by Serris as they crashed through the holding tank wall, and she remembered having to remove her helmet to drain out the water after the creature had retreated, but then Sami had… no, not the SA-X… it had been Dr. Dolan who came into the room. Samus recalled being sprayed with that awful first-aid substance, but then there was nothing until she woke up there.

"Adam?" She called into her communicator. "Adam, can you get a fix on my location… Adam?"

There was no response from the computer, probably because without the suit to boost its signal, her communications device was rather limited. Speaking of her suit, it had clearly been deactivated, most likely by herself, since it couldn't be taken off otherwise, as the scientists at Galactic Federation HQ had learned, but where was she? Sliding off the hospital bed, she hissed a little at the slightly lingering pain in her legs, but then began to take a look around.

"Hello?" She called out. "Hello? Richard?"

There was no response, and there was little of interest in this room, so she walked over to the only door in sight, and pushed it open. The next room was dark, with only a single illuminated sign to mark the exit to help guide her, so Samus placed her hand on the wall, gasping and pulling her hand back in response to how cold the smooth surface was. In fact, the surface of the wall was so smooth that it almost felt like glass, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could barely see something moving behind it.

Maybe it was some kind of aquarium, she thought, this idea at first shocking her as an image of Serris attacking surged through her mind, but then again the form that she could see was nowhere large enough to be that monster… so what was it? Trying to ignore the cold, Samus kept her hand barely on the glass wall so that she could avoid walking into anything that might be at the center of the room, but then her hand passed over what felt like an old manual light switch.

Well, that would certainly make her life easier, so she flipped it to the upward position, but instead of lights coming on inside the room, it activated a backlight inside the tank beyond the glass. This allowed her to see some of the features around the room, which was better than nothing, but then the moving figure rushed up to the glass, and Samus found herself frozen with confusion more than anything at what she saw, being that it was impossible.

It was an infant Metroid floating around; its green bulbous head reflecting some of the lights as its fangs twitched, but then it jumped backwards as if repelled by the oddly cold glass when it got too close. Looking closer at the glass, Samus saw that the edges were coated with frost, possibly meaning that it had been intentionally designed for the containment of these creatures… but why would there be a containment system designed for these creatures, when they were supposed to be extinct? And how were there Metroids in there in the first…

Suddenly something large dropped down in front of the infant, filling the view completely, and making her mouth run dry. Starting from the bottom and looking up, she had its armored muscular legs, protective ribcage that partially covered what used to be its bulbous green head, clawed arms that could shred through almost any known substance, and finally its elongated head, with eyes that slowly turned down toward her.

It was an _Omega_ … the largest and most powerful of all the Metroids that Samus had encountered on her first trip to SR388, aside from the Queen, of course, and now it was looking right at her. She found herself unable to move as the Omega slowly squatted down so that its enormous head was eye-level with her, moving closer and closer until it touched the glass, and quickly moved backwards, resulting in an angry roar.

The sudden noise was so loud and powerful that it shook the room, and this along with the flashbacks of previous encounters with this kind of creature would have resulted in a scream from her as well, but was stopped when she walked backwards into someone who quickly clamped their hand over her mouth.

"It can't see us in here." A familiar voice quickly whispered. "And the cryo-barrier keeps it from seeing our heat as well, but the walls aren't soundproof."

She got the hint, and also identified the voice, turning around once he released her and seeing that it was in fact Dr. Dolan who had been holding her. He looked just as unkempt and exhausted as when she had retrieved him from the Yakuza droid, and she could see bandages around his torso underneath his shirt from where Sami had shot him in Sector Three, but he also seemed calmer.

"We probably shouldn't stay in here too long." Dr. Dolan continued, switching off the backlight. "Come on, I need to show you something."

"Hold on a second." Samus replied, following him through another door into a well-lit corridor. "Why are there Metroids here? _How_ are there Metroids here?"

Letting out a sigh, he explained that these Metroids were how he had been able to acquire both the cell culture that had saved her from being devoured by the X Parasites, as well as the one that allowed him to survive their onslaught so far. This laboratory existed to clone Metroids for potential use by the Galactic Federation, and he had nearly exposed the project by taking the cells when the idea dawned on him.

"So this is where you've been hiding from Sami this whole time?" Samus asked as they walked. "Did you bring the other survivors here as well?"

"Samus, there _are_ no other survivors." Dr. Dolan quickly replied. "After the Power Bomb went off, your _sister_ killed everyone in the Quarantine Bay, except for me."

He went on to explain how he had already taken the Metroid Vaccine in order to be able to study the SA-X up close, so when the released X Parasites began to infect everyone that she hadn't already shot, Sami dragged him along with the intent of forcing him to allow her and the others to return to SR388.

"I escaped when our security force counter-attacked." He continued, opening another door. "When I got back here I managed to lockdown the station, but Sami had already gotten to the entire staff. I'm afraid you and me are the only humans here, but this here is what I was trying to warn you about back in Sector Three."

The door opened into a sort of control room, sterile-white like the rest of the laboratory, and with dozens upon dozens of monitors that displayed a majority of the BSL station. There was little to no activity in the operations decks, but the habitats were now full of life, with all the sectors she had visited now filled with X Parasites that were starting to copy the creatures that resided in them. One of the monitors had a red light blinking above it, and the first thing Samus saw when she looked at the image on the screen was what looked like a frozen cave.

There was also a large hovering object… no, it was some kind of droid. She had never seen the likes of it, with its _faceplate_ that looked like a frown, and it appeared to be firing Plasma Beams at the SA-X. There was also some kind of engine at the base of the machine, and it seemed to be making it harder for Sami to move.

"This is the _Nightmare_ in Sector Five." Dr. Dolan explained. "It's the last of my security droids, finished installing the Gravity Drive right before I found you in Sector Four, and the good news is that it's a match for her. On its own, your _sister_ can't beat it, but look closer at the screen, Samus."

She looked, and at first all she saw was the SA-X being blasted backwards by the Nightmare's weaponry, but then she realized what he was talking about, and a knot formed in Samus's stomach when she saw… a _second_ SA-X joining in the fight… and a few seconds later a third.

"What the _fuck_?!" She exclaimed, turning back to him when she finally found her words. "There's… there's _three_ of her!"

"No, there are _seven_ by my count." He replied as a fourth one joined in, all of them shooting at the Nightmare. "Luckily for you, they've been busy taking over the habitats, or they would've killed you by now. See, the X Parasites reproduce through _asexual mitosis_ , and each new one that results from this process can retain the form of the first one's host."

Samus knew enough science to understand that he was saying Sami could clone herself, and when she saw their combine weapons fire starting to overwhelm the Nightmare, the knot in her stomach became so tight that she thought she was going to throw up. The Nightmare no longer stood a chance, pieces of it being blown apart and landing on the frozen terrain, and as the machine was blown apart, she understood why he had tried to blow up the station.

"Okay, we have work to do." Dr. Dolan said as the Sector Five monitor went to static. "First, we need to link your suit to mine so that you can download more of your old abilities. Then we're going to have to fight our way back up to the operations deck, and then… then, Samus, you and me are gonna blow up this station."


	25. Chapter 25 Sector 1 (SRX)

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Five: Sector 1 (SRX)**

Thanks once again to the auto-repair systems, the holes and other damage to Samus's suit had been completely repaired by the time she reactivated it, allowing her to link with the purple one that Dr. Dolan had built for himself. The changes weren't instant, since there was _a lot_ more data to be processed than when she had simply downloaded the Varia Suit from his data archives in Sector Six, but it was well worth the wait in order to have so many of her previous abilities come back online.

In addition to gaining added protection, as well as the ability to move freely in both liquid and vacuum environments, something that would have been very nice to have during the fight with Serris, the _Spring Boost_ system reactivated, which would allow her to jump around while in Morph Ball form. The data for _Power Bombs_ was downloaded as well, something that was sure to come in handy, and finally the long sought after Plasma Beam was enabled in her cannon, and it was hard to contain her excitement at this, since now it meant that she could actually fight off the SA-X.

"I can't believe it." Samus said, looking at her suit's new purple color-scheme while the diagnostics were finished. "Richard, what you've been able to accomplish with Chozo technology… it's nothing short of astonishing."

"I certainly hope so." Dr. Dolan replied, putting on his own suit's helmet. "Because once we're done, it will be the only thing left from this station."

It was a little sad to think that all of the research that had been completed on this station, which was essentially the whole staff's legacy, was about to go up in flames once they set the self-destruct system, but in the end, it was better than allowing Sami and her recently cloned SA-X's to roam free. Dr. Dolan had locked down Sector Five with another firewall once his Nightmare droid had been defeated, and it was their hope that it would keep all of the SA-X's trapped there long enough for the two of them to finish their work.

"I'm still not getting a response from Adam." She said after once again failing to reach the computer. "I wish I could let him know what we're planning so he can have the ship ready to go, but I guess that can't be helped."

"It's probably the walls in here." Dr. Dolan explained. "This area was made for complete seclusion and secrecy, so much in fact, that I was the only one who knew about it… maybe if the others had known, we could've all…

Suddenly his words were interrupted by a loud _bang_ , causing the lights to flicker for a moment as the nearby exit hatch shook a little. This was followed by another, identical sound, and then another in increasingly rapid succession as if something were ramming into it from the other side. There was a red light blinking above one of the security monitors, so Samus looked at it, gasping when she saw that there were three SA-X's outside the door… one of which had small dents in her armor from recent Plasma Beam hits.

"It's Sami… looks like they weren't all in Sector Five after all." She said as the three of them continued to shoot the hatch. "Is there another way out of here?"

"Yes, there is." Dr. Dolan replied, pointing over to another hatch at the far end of the room. "It was only a matter of time before they found me, so I kept the back way a secret… that hatch will take up into Sector One, the SR388 simulation habitat, and from there we should have no difficulty… as long as I can make sure that Sami doesn't follow us."

The heavy hatch was made of some sturdy material, but soon it was starting to buckle under the assault of the three SA-X's. Running over to the other hatch and opening it, she expected Dr. Dolan to follow immediately, but instead he remained right where he was. A moment later the hatch fell inward, twisted and half-frozen, hitting the floor with an echoing _clang_ as the three intruders slowly walked through. Dr. Dolan, meanwhile, had been charging up his Plasma Beam, aiming it right at their leader when she broke off part of the fallen door with her foot.

"Richard… no hope." Sami said, moving her eyes to the charged weapon. "Fight… over… I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too, Sami." He replied, taking keeping the weapon aimed at them. "Goodbye."

He then turned and fired the beam in the other direction… through the open door, and into the darkened room where Samus had emerged… and then there was the sound of glass shattering, followed by an alarm. For a moment it looked like the SA-X was going to ask him what the hell he was playing at, but then there was a kind of rustling sound, and Dr. Dolan leapt out of the way as a swarm made up of dozens of glowing creatures came flying out. Sami's eyes widened when she saw this, and then she and the other SA-X's screamed in terror, firing their Ice Beams wildly as the swarm overtook them.

"Go!" Dr. Dolan yelled as he scrambled toward Samus. "Quickly!"

Samus watched as several of the infant Metroids carried one of the screaming SA-X's back toward the holding tank, but then she was brought back to reality when Dr. Dolan shoved her through the hatch. There was a small room beyond, with a ladder bolted to the wall, and she was about to start climbing, when an all too familiar roar from back inside the laboratory made her stop and turn around.

Her eyes widened, and she froze at the sight of the Omega Metroid forcing its way through the doorway, destroying the doorframe and a large portion of the wall in order to accommodate its massive frame. Sami and the other SA-X started shooting at it, but the monster simply backhanded Sami with its massive claw, sending her flying through the air, where she crashed through the monitors and testing equipment. As for the other one, she continued to shoot at it until the monster grabbed her with its claw.

It picked her up off the floor, and then shoved the whole top half of her body into its gaping mouth, before closing its jaw. The large, sharp teeth ripped right through her suit, cutting off her scream just before her body distorted, regaining the form of one of those really big X Parasites that Samus had seen come from both Neo Ridley and Serris. This one, however, didn't have a chance to defend itself or escape, before the Omega grabbed it once again.

"Samus, go!" Dr. Dolan yelled, pushing her toward the ladder. "We don't have time for this!"

Hitting the button to close the hatch behind them, Samus was finally able to start moving again once the monster was gone from her sight. She had seen those things tear people apart before, such as the rescue team that had been sent to SR388 before her first mission there, but it was something that she had never gotten used to. On top of that, she found herself actually starting to feel bad for Sami and the others. No one deserved to be ripped apart and devoured by those… those… _things_ … not even X Parasites.

"You should've gotten station maps during the download from my suit." Dr. Dolan said as they continued upward. "The Systems Station isn't far, but it's easy to get lost in this area, since I modeled it after the planet's cave systems."

"We'll get there just fine." Samus replied as she reached the top. "Nothing's going to stop me from ending this."

There was another hatch at the top, but when she opened it, it was like stepping into the past. The whole area was a cave system similar to Sector Six, but dimly illuminated by the glowing green plants that had grown right through the rocks on the floor. The air temperature was warm like she remembered on the planet, but this time it felt good… no, better than good… as if this was where she was supposed to be. No doubt this was some side-effect of the Metroid Vaccine, sort of like her new aversion to cold.

"Up that way, to the left." Dr. Dolan said, pointing to a nearby staircase. "That Omega should be _more_ than enough to hold Sami off, but let's not take any chances."

Not seeing any reason to argue, Samus led the way again as they went up the stairs, and it was a good thing that they had his map of the local area, since this cave system had even more twists and turns than the planet that it was based on. Still, the good news was that there was no sign of either Sami or the Omega Metroid. Her hope was that the two of them had killed each other, since Samus didn't really want to face off with either one again.

"There it is!" She exclaimed, pointing to the exit that was just ahead. "Come on!"

Moving faster now, Samus and Dr. Dolan made their way up to the door, with a constant fear in her mind that each step would bring the return of the SA-X, but it didn't. They made it to the door, entered the Systems Station, and he sealed the door behind them by entering the lockdown code into the door panel. Samus was now able to let out a sigh of relief for the first time since leaving the restricted area, so she took off her helmet, prompting the scientist to do the same.

"I think we're safe for the moment." Dr. Dolan said, looking around. "So let's try to get in touch with your computer and…

He was interrupted again, this time not by an eminent attack, but when Samus walked up to him, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him. This had been the first thing she had wanted to do upon seeing him again, especially now that the scientist didn't seem so crazy anymore, and it was hard to believe that the last time they had kissed was when she was still in the recovery ward back at Galactic Federation HQ.

"God, I missed your lips." Dr. Dolan whispered, his arms around her as well.

"And they missed you, too, Richard." She replied with a smile, stepping away. "But don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to get reacquainted once we're out of here."

Moving over to the console, Samus used her suit to allow Adam to connect to the local network, and it was a good feeling to know that the computer was still there, as the console and large room monitor came to life. However, the good feeling was halted when there was a beeping sound just before the light above the door leading back to the main hub turned red… meaning that it was now locked down.

"What the hell just happened?" She asked.


	26. Chapter 26 Any Objections, Lady?

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Six: Any Objections, Lady?**

"Adam, why did the door just lock?" Samus asked, looking around the room. "Adam, can you hear me?"

There was no response from the computer, even though the remote link between the computer and Sector One had been established, and to make matters worse the manual override for the door wasn't working either. This silence continued until Dr. Dolan attempted to enter a code into the console, resulting with an electrical surge with enough power to both penetrate his suit and send him reeling backwards into the wall.

"Richard!" Samus exclaimed, running to check on him after he fell to the floor. "Adam, I know you can hear me; what the _hell_ is going on?!"

" _I'm very sorry, Samus_." The computer's voice replied as the monitor activated. " _But I have my orders... both you and Dr. Dolan are to be contained_."

It was hard to hear, and even harder to _believe_ the next words that the computer spoke. Since the beginning of the mission, Adam had been sending all collected data back to HQ for analysis, that much she had already known, but the results of that data were completely different than she had expected. Clearly the X Parasites were a threat to the entire galaxy, shown both by their recorded actions _and_ Dr. Dolan's research, but where they had seen peril and danger, and Federation had seen _potential_. To make matters worse, the Federation had acquired Executive Override codes to the station from BSL, meaning that Adam could now override even Dr. Dolan's access.

" _The X Parasites are formidable, it's true_." The computer continued. " _However, the Federation believes, based on Dr. Dolan's progress with the Prime SA-X specimen designated 'Sami', that they can be educated, and perhaps one day completely domesticated into a force that serves the community as a whole_."

"Serves the community… are you _stupid_?" Samus demanded, helping Dr. Dolan to his feet. "Adam, Sami is a _killer_ … she used Richard in order to learn enough about me to use my abilities, and then she led the _massacre_ of every lifeform onboard this station. The X Parasites are nothing but senseless predators, and without the Metroids to keep them in check, they've probably overrun the whole of SR388 by now."

"Machine, you have to be able to understand this." Dr. Dolan added. "Sami is a _perfect_ copy of Samus, you know, the bounty hunter that the Federation uses whenever they need someone really powerful destroyed. Well, the moment that she was fully matured, she began to replicate herself, as you've seen in my notes, at the rate of one division every five to seven hours, possibly due to how quickly the Metroids once consumed them. Then her clones did this as well once they matured, and they cannot be allowed to get off this station."

" _Doctor, you have caused enough damage, without adding the destruction of BSL property_." Adam's voice responded. " _The Federation has determined that the X Parasite outbreak onboard this station is solely due to your negligence, as is the repeated theft of Metroid cells, the illegal Human-testing of an unlicensed vaccine, and most recently a full-blown Metroid outbreak. When Federation Troops arrive to pacify the station, Samus will be free to go, but you, Doctor, are to be placed under arrest_."

"You can't let troops land here!" Samus argued urgently. "They haven't been given the Metroid vaccine, the X Parasites will rip them to pieces! Come on, you stupid fucking machine, why can't you be more like the _real_ Adam?! He would've understood!"

Expecting another cold reply, she was surprised when the computer was silent. By then Dr. Dolan had shaken off the effects of the energy surge, and he was starting to move back toward the control panel, when more electrical sparking made him think twice. So what was she supposed to do? Shoot the computer? That would do no good at all. Escape through maintenance tunnels? Probably already locked down.

" _The 'real' Adam_?" The computer's voice said, interrupting her thoughts. " _And what would this 'real' Adam do in this situation_?"

"He would've done what was _right_." Samus answered sternly. "Adam Malkovich was an ass… he was gruff and unfeeling, perfect at dispensing criticism, a lot like you, but he was a good man, and he gave his life to protect others."

"Come on, Samus, you can't expect a _machine_ to understand that." Dr. Dolan interrupted. "It's a slave to its orders, just like any other piece of equipment, and can only do what the programmer tells it. It can't wrap its binary mind around giving its own life for others."

"Indeed I can't, Doctor." Adam's voice replied. "Especially when those 'others' are a couple of idiots who think that destroying this station would solve this crisis, when it would only result in their own destruction. The SA-X's would be gone, but the rest of the X Parasites on the planet would remain. However, if you were to… say… instead alter the course of this station to impact the surface of SR388, then their destruction would be complete."

Samus wasn't sure what she was hearing, but it almost sounded like the computer was giving them advice on how to disobey its order from the Galactic Federation. But how was that possible? Two minutes ago it was ready to leave them locked inside that Systems Station, but now…

"What?" She asked. "Adam… what are you saying?"

" _I believe that you heard me, Samus_." Adam's voice replied as the lock was released on the door. " _Head up to the Command Deck, where you fought Dr. Dolan's first security droid, and set this station to crash into SR388. You have your orders… any objections, Lady_?"

Samus froze, her eyes widening when she heard these final words, but being unsure what to make of them. However, her thought process was interrupted by the sound of Dr. Dolan putting his helmet back on, prompting her to do the same. The computer added that he would meet them back at the ship just before they left the Systems Station, but Samus found that she was unable to think of anything else beyond those three words as she and Dr. Dolan made their way back up the elevator shaft into the Quarantine Facility.

No, that couldn't be Adam Malkovich, it just couldn't, she thought as they moved back down the mostly destroyed corridors. This Adam was a machine… a computer that was installed into the ship that the Galactic Federation had given her in order to carry out this mission. But then again, how could he disobey his orders like that? And how did he know about the real Adam's little catchphrase that, as far as Samus knew, he had only ever spoken to her?

The X Parasites must've been pretty busy with the Metroids that Dr. Dolan had released into the breeding habitats, since the two of them encountered no resistance while passing through the Quarantine Facility, nor did anything attack them in the common areas, and it was even still quiet when they reached the lower levels of the Command Deck, where the remains of the BOX security droid remained mostly crushed under the rubble that Samus had dropped on it from the ceiling.

"The Bridge is up there." Dr. Dolan said, pointing up to the highest levels of the room. "Come on."

Leading the way once again, he ran over to the spiraling staircase that was in the center of the room, and Samus followed him as they made their way up toward the top. For the first time since arriving at this nightmare place, the thought of escape was entering her mind, but what was she to do afterwards? The Federation was probably not going to be happy with her, meaning that there would be no pay for this mission, as well as the possibility of being a wanted criminal, but at least she would have Dr. Dolan with her.

Granted, their relationship probably wasn't what most professionals would describe as _healthy_ , being that it was based mostly on near-death experiences, with one brief interlude consisting of dinner and sex, but there would be plenty of time for more of that later. But speaking of later… there would always be more bounties from someone, and it would be nice to have someone as smart as him around, especially since he could replicate Chozo…

"SAMUS!" A voice suddenly shrieked, interrupting her plans as a figure ran into the room below. "SAMUS… DIE!"

It was Sami, her presence causing both her and Dr. Dolan to stop moving once her head turned up toward them. The SA-X then aimed her cannon at them, but something was different about the weapon. The cannon's barrel was open, suggesting a missile attack, but at the same time the weapon inside was glowing… but how could a missile…

"It's _Diffusion_!" Dr. Dolan exclaimed. "Samus, look out!"

He shoved her backwards just as the weapon was fired, causing Samus to tumble back down one level of stairs while the missile screamed toward its target, leaving a blue and white trail until it detonated right where Samus had been standing… and area that happened to be occupied by Dr. Dolan. The scientist screamed as a cold, blue energy swirled around him, turning his suit, as well as the stairs and guardrails around him into solid blocks of ice.

The stairs then shattered under their own weight, causing both Dr. Dolan and Samus, even though she had been just out of range of the weapon's strange energy, to come crashing down toward the floor. Pieces of ice rained down for several seconds while Samus had the wind knocked out of her when she landed on her side, but as for Dr. Dolan… his completely frozen body struck the floor at full speed, and there he shattered into a dozen pieces of ice.

Everything appeared to Samus to be happening in slow motion as the pieces of him scattered across the floor among the other ice from the stairs, and part of her knew that she needed to be focused on Sami, but instead she found herself scrambling over to his frozen remains, regardless of knowing that there was nothing she could do. Her hands were shaking more and more, with tears starting to flow from her eyes as the reality of what had just happened started to set into her mind.

Dr. Dolan was gone… he was gone… and so were the possibilities of a future with him… and it was all because of _her_. All the creatures in the breeding habitats, all the people who worked on this station, every ounce of death and destruction that she had encountered since her own near-death on SR388… was all because of _Sami_. This _parasite_ … this _SA-X_ … was going to pay for this. No, there was no time for tears, even as she touched what remained of his helmet… not until _Sami_ was forced to shed a few of her own.

"Target was… you." Sami said quietly. "Why… Richard?"

"Then you're going to regret missing." Samus replied, slowly getting to her feet. "I'm gonna make you regret it _a lot_ , you parasitic bitch!"


	27. Chapter 27 Course Change

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Seven: Course Change**

Not wasting another second, Samus raised her cannon and began firing her Plasma Beam at the SA-X, who must've had the same idea, since she also began shooting at the same time. Forced to avoid each other's weapons, they both moved sideways, ducking down and taking position behind any cover that they could, all the while large pieces of the walls and floor were pulverized around them.

Electrical wiring and lights sparks, while steel and concrete debris rained down, although neither Samus nor Sami seemed able to score a direct hit on their opponent. Suddenly the SA-X rushed forward, leaping into the air to avoid Samus's shots, and her body being surrounded by crackling green energy as she began flipping forward. Samus was able to avoid this _Screw Attack_ by shrinking down into a Morph Ball and rolling behind her, only to bounce up and plant a Power Bomb on the back of her helmet the moment she landed.

The device started to spin while Samus rolled out of range, and then Sami vanished in a flash of light, leaving even more destruction when the light faded. The SA-X had been sent sliding across the floor on her face, but she quickly recovered, jumping to her feet and opening the barrel of her cannon so that another of these _Diffusion_ type missiles could charge up. It fired a couple seconds later, and Samus was able to avoid the radius of its cold energy when it struck a cargo container, but by the time she was back on her feet, the SA-X had another one ready.

This one was harder to avoid when it struck the nearby wall, forcing Samus to roll to safety, but again she was just getting to her feet, when another Diffusion missile detonated on the floor, making her have to dive forward to avoid its freezing power. However, this time when she landed on her stomach, Samus aimed her cannon and fired, hitting Sami in the leg. This caused her to stumble forward, while the missile was launched right into a nearby cargo crate, freezing it solid while the SA-X scrambled backwards to avoid getting frozen, herself.

The frozen crate was suddenly shattered as Samus began firing her Plasma Beam right through it, causing Sami to cry out in surprise, stumbling backwards and falling down when a few more dents were put into her armor. She expected the SA-X to start shooting back, but instead Sami rolled backwards to her feet, and began to run. She went sideways across the room, and Samus wasn't sure what was going on… not until the SA-X picked up so much speed that she left a blurry trail as she sprinted around the room.

Samus shot at her a couple times, but the SA-X easily dodged them before ramming her shoulder into Samus's chest as she ran past. Continuing this super charged sprint, Sami circled around the room again, coming back and actually managing to circle around behind Samus, and knock her forward this time, making some internal alarms start going off inside Samus's suit as she slid across the floor on her face.

These upgrades to her suit were top of the line, but even with all of Dr. Dolan's Chozo expertise, it was still no match for the original Varia Suit that the SA-X was enjoying. Two more times she was hit by Sami's charging attack, pushing the suit's damage threshold to the limit, and it wasn't about to take much more of this kind of punishment, so if Samus wanted to survive, she was going to have to think smarter. Of course, thinking would have been easier if she were given a break to let her suit repair itself… and then it hit her.

She had only partially noticed it before, but the SA-X's armor still looked like it had bene heavily dented by the Plasma Beams, as well as scorched and dulled by everything it had taken during the fights with all of Dr. Dolan's security droids, meaning that… meaning that Sami had probably not deactivated her armor in quite some time, and… and that meant that hers was probably doing just as bad, if not worse.

Well, it wasn't much to go on, but it was something, and now Samus just had to figure out how to give her a few more good hits, which was nearly impossible with how quickly the SA-X was moving. Since this had been one of her former abilities, Samus knew that it couldn't be kept up forever, so she charged up her most powerful plasma blast, and hoped that Sami would stop moving sometime soon.

She got her wish a few seconds later, when Sami sprinted over to the far end of the room and stopped suddenly, taking a knee as if she were tired. This was not the case, however, as the SA-X's body began to shimmer, using a speed trick that Samus had learned during her second mission to the planet Zebes. This trick put all the stored up energy of rushing around into a single movement that could go in any direction, even straight up, but Sami didn't go up. Her feet left the ground as the stored energy sent her flying right toward Samus at an incredible velocity, so quickly that Samus barely had time to raise her weapon before the impact.

Releasing the charged beam at the exact same moment that Sami rammed into her, the energy struck the SA-X in the chest, and this combined with the force of her shimmering attack caused Samus's armor to collapse as she was thrown backwards. Her suit vanished into the emergency repair and standby mode, leaving her wearing nothing but her undersuit as she rolled across the floor. Panic started to set in as she realized just how vulnerable she was in this state, but then Samus looked over at her opponent, and gasped when she saw that Sami was on the floor as well… wearing nothing but her undersuit.

It was the slightly more revealing, two-piece version that she had worn before being infected by the X Parasite, but it was still a strange sensation to see, well, _herself_ standing there as she got to her feet; the SA-X pushing her own long blonde hair out of her face before reaching back in order to retie her ponytail. Both of them were breathing heavily by this point, dripping sweat and having a little trouble moving, but unfortunately for Samus… she was the one in worse shape.

The rush of adrenaline that had followed Dr. Dolan's death, gave her the energy and focus that she had needed to go one on one with the SA-X, but now that it was fading, it was clear that she had taken a lot more punishment during their battle than Sami, who was now walking toward her. Most likely, the SA-X was planning on finishing her off with her bare hands, and under normal circumstances this would have probably worked. However, for once it was Samus who had something that the other did not.

Locked into a holster that was strapped to her inner-thigh, was a small survival pistol that had come with the ship, and Samus had completely forgotten that she was even wearing it, since the weapon was damn near useless against anything tougher than a Human who wasn't wearing any armor. Fortunately, this time her enemy _was_ a Human who wasn't wearing any armor, and Sami's face was priceless when Samus drew the weapon and fired.

The red beam struck the SA-X right in the unprotected chest, causing her to cry out before falling onto her back, but then her body distorted. Somehow Samus kept forgetting that the most powerful X Parasites were able to assume this form as a last-ditch effort to protect themselves, and she had hoped that when the energy tore through Sami's flesh and out the other side, that it would be the end of it. Instead the SA-X came back into focus as an even _bigger_ X Parasite than with Neo Ridley and Serris… and then it floated away.

For a moment Samus had hoped that it would continue on with the fight so that she could absorb it, but then again the survival pistol was unequipped to take down its protective barrier, as was her undersuit adequate if it still had a weapon like Neo Ridley's had. Still trying to catch her breath, and having several minutes remaining before she would be able to reactivate her suit, Samus could do nothing except watch Sami vanish through the door.

Her first instinct was to rest, since it was only a matter of time before the SA-X was able to reform itself, but then again if she waited for her enemy to come back, then she would never get the chance to change the station's course. So she struggled to her feet, and did her best not to get choked up by the frozen remains of Dr. Dolan as she walked past them in order to use the stairs. It was only the one area that had been destroyed by the Diffusion missiles, and that was easy enough to manually climb past once she got there.

"Adam, I'm at the Bridge." She panted upon reaching the top of the stairs. "Richard's… he didn't make it… can you alter the station's course… if I connect you?"

" _I believe that I can, Samus_." The computer's voice replied as she moved over to the controls. " _And… my condolences about Dr. Dolan… I know you were close_."

Sniffling as she wiped away a tear, Samus used her interface to connect Adam to the Bridge's controls as she had done with all the other local networks. Outside she could see the nearby planet SR388, but now instead of simply remembering it for her battle against the Metroids, it was now in her mind as where she had first met Dr. Dolan. The controls blinked and processed the data while Adam fed the helm its new coordinates, and then it was done. She could feel the station's alignment rockets firing, and now SR388 was moving so that it was at the center of the window.

"Hurry back to the ship, Samus." The computer continued as the controls shut down. "There are only a few minutes until impact with the planet's surface."

She didn't need to be told twice, immediately turning away from the Bridge, and heading back down the partially broken staircase. The only way for her to go was out the same door where Sami had floated off through, but that couldn't be helped. Encountering her was a risk that had to be taken, since the alternative was waiting there until the station crashed, so Samus ran across the room and through the door, intent on not stopping again until she reached the ship.


	28. Chapter 28 Omega

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Eight: Omega**

The alarms began to sound almost the same instant that Samus left the Command Deck; the warning sirens blaring while yellow spinning lights illuminated the corridors, and the station's automated system announced that the dangerous course change had been made. It cycled through the standard announcements about trying to override it, but without Human personnel there to unlock the systems, this was impossible. So the alarms kept going off, repeatedly making requests for the crew to report to the Bridge, but there was no one left to hear it.

The knowledge that she was now the only living thing onboard the station that wasn't an X Parasite or a Metroid was an odd experience, sort of like a sense of impending doom as she ran through the empty Quarantine Facility. Of course, there was also the knowledge that this whole nightmare was going to be over soon, since the crash course into SR388 had been set, and there was literally nothing that could have _ever_ convinced her to stop it. The ongoing threat of Sami had been stopped as well, at least for a little while, so as long as the Metroids kept the other SA-X's busy, all Samus had to do was make it back to her ship.

"It's done, Adam." She reported, suddenly feeling strange about calling the computer by that name. "I'm on my way back."

There was no reply, at least none that she could hear, since the alarms were even louder now than when Dr. Dolan had set the main reactor to meltdown, and without her helmet to filter out the background noise, Samus had to simply hope that the computer had heard her message. There was no point in denying that she was frightened to be moving around the station without the protection of her suit, since the survival pistol was damn near useless, so she tried to sprint through the common areas as quickly as she could.

Worried that something was going to jump out at her with every step, Samus just kept on sprinting until she shoved her way through the door that led into the docking bays, but at least now there was plenty of light, unlike the last time that she had been in there. However, as she ran across the bay to where her ship had been docked, she found herself slowly coming to a stop in reaction to what she saw, or in this case… what she _didn't_ see… and that was that she ship was just… gone.

"Adam, where are you?" She asked into the receiver, struggling to be heard over the alarms. "I'm in the Docking Bay, but I don't see…

A flash of movement caught her eye, causing Samus to look off to the side, and then her words stopped in reaction to the figure that was stepping out from behind a support pillar. It was Sami, or… maybe not Sami specifically, but certainly another SA-X that had now walked into view. Slowly backing away from this enemy, she turned to run for cover, only to find herself face to face with _another_ SA-X that was coming from the other direction.

Glaring at her through their green visors as they slowly approached, the two SA-X's moved so that they were blocking both exits from this area, and then forced Samus to slowly back into a corner. Even with her suit, she had just barely managed to beat a single one of these creatures, so now that she was unarmed against _two_ of them, the odds of her survival were not looking very good when her back came up against the wall.

"Adam, please." She said with a shaky voice as the two SA-X's aimed their cannons at her. "Adam, I really need…

Suddenly a high-pitch roar filled the area, even managing to drown out the blaring alarms for a moment as something burst its way through the ceiling. Something large, and powerful enough to make the two SA-X's forget all about Samus as it landed behind them. It was an Omega Metroid, probably the same one that she had seen in the restricted area, but if nothing else, it gave her the opportunity to get away while the SA-X's began shooting it.

The monster roared in anger and pain, reacting to the multiple shots from their Ice Beams, and even backing off a step or two, but then it advanced. It backhanded the nearest one with its massive claw, sending her flying into one of the support pillars with nearly enough force to destroy it, and then it picked up the second one. This time it shoved her all the way into its mouth, cutting off the SA-X's scream when it chomped down onto her body, chewing and chewing on her until the X Parasite had been completely absorbed.

Meanwhile, Samus had made it back to the door leading to the common areas, not that she knew what she would do once back there. Still, whatever it was, it would be better than staying in there with an Omega, so she pulled open the door, only to have to back up once again in reaction to a very large X Parasite floating toward her. Even before it regained its shape, she knew that it was Sami, and the parasite did just that, reforming into the original SA-X just as the Omega finished devouring the second SA-X.

Sami's eyes widened in reaction to this, and then she ran right past Samus, opening her cannon and charging up one of the Diffusion missiles. The weapon was fired, and the Omega Metroid screamed as the swirling energy engulfed it upon impact, but clearly the SA-X wasn't about to let it off that easily. She continued to fire shots at it with her Ice Beam, filling the area with so much cold and mist that the monster was hidden from sight, but still Sami ran forward, firing and firing until a massive claw came swinging outward from inside the mist.

The SA-X tried to avoid it, but the monster was too fast, and the claws shredded right through her suit as Sami was sent rolling and bouncing back across the floor. She finally slid to a stop right in front of Samus, and actually tried to get up again, but then her strength ran out. Going limp before distorting back into the large X Parasite, she tried to float away again, but this time Samus was ready. She dove on top of the large parasite, reaching through the barrier and grabbing the core with her bare hands.

The parasite fought and struggled for all it was worth, cutting Samus's face and undersuit with the spikes on its barrier, but little by little its mass was absorbed into her body until the fight was over. It was her hope that this would at least give her enough energy to repair her suit, but she didn't expect the whole system to become reactivated. It took her a second to realize that the quick diagnostic that followed indicated that all of her abilities were back online… all of them. And best of all, her suit was no longer purple. It had resumed its old orange and yellow color, meaning that she had finally regained everything that was taken from her back on SR388.

The Omega seemed to notice this as well, and turned to face her once the remaining cold mist faded, but unlike the ones that the monster had been feeding on, Samus was no SA-X. She might have been forced to fight off these monsters the hard way back on SR388, which was probably why the SA-X's only knew to attack it with cold weapons, but this wasn't the cave systems of that planet… this was a free-floating space station… and the Omega Metroid was standing right in front of an airlock.

The monster roared again as it started toward her, and Samus aimed her cannon, but instead of shooting the Omega, she fired a shot that went right past it, hitting the manual release for the docking shutters. The shutters were released, and since the Docking Bay hadn't been depressurized first, an incredible vacuum was created, sucking debris and anything else not bolted down into space as the shutter continued to open. Samus grabbed onto one of the support pillars in order to stop herself from being sucked out as well, but the Omega wasn't so lucky.

It stumbled and fell onto its stomach as the vacuum pulled it toward the void, but then its claw managed to grab onto the very edge of the floor, leaving the lower half of its body flailing out in empty space. The vacuum would only last until all of the air was sucked out, in which case the Omega would be able to pull itself back into the bay, so Samus let go of the pillar with one hand, while aiming her cannon at the monster with the other. The Diffusion missiles had become active for her as well, so she charged one up, and launched it.

The weapon left a blue trail as it shot toward the monster, and then it detonated on contact, engulfing the screaming Omega in the swirling cold energy once again. It didn't kill the monster, but it was enough to make it lose its grip on the station, and allowing the last of the vacuum to send it spiraling toward the surface of SR388, which by this time had gotten a lot closer to the station. The good news was that without air to carry soundwaves, Samus didn't have to listen to the alarms anymore, but the bad news… she was still trapped on the station with no visible way out.

" _Samus_." The computer's voice suddenly called. " _Samus, can you hear me? The station is about to crash, give me a signal if you are still alive_."

"Adam, I'm here!" She yelled back as the planet continued to get closer. "I'm in the Docking Bay, hurry!"

The station had already started to shake upon touching the very edges of SR388's upper atmosphere by the time the purple and blue ship flew its way back into the bay and lowered the cargo ramp. This gave Samus just enough time to run across the Docking Bay and scramble aboard; the cargo ramp rising and the ship flying back out through the open shutter just before the BSL station turned red from entering the lower atmosphere.

Being built solely for operations in zero gravity, the station's supports and exterior structures were the first to buckle, causing the different sections to collapse while the whole station turned red from the atmosphere's friction. The breeding environments broke off into flaming sections that scattered across the planet, but SR388's fate was sealed. The station's core made direct impact with the surface, resulting in an explosion that rivaled the system's star for a few moments… and then it was over… the light eventually faded, and the BSL station… along with the planet SR388… were just gone.


	29. Chapter 29 The Truth

**Fusion: Metroid IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Nine: The Truth**

It was an incredible thing to watch, the complete destruction of a planet. It's cosmic brilliance probably visible from a dozen neighboring systems for the few moments that SR388 burned, but then it was gone. The world that had been the home to both the Metroids and the X Parasites, as well as a high-profile research site for the Chozo race, had vanished into the darkness as if it had never been there in the first place, and although this was probably for the best, it was still a shame.

"What a waste." She said as the last of the light faded. "Might as well leave a sign that says: _Samus Aran was here_."

Finally turning away from the site formerly occupied by SR388, Samus let out a long sigh of relief, deactivating her suit as she slumped down in the pilot's chair. The answer to her question of how the computer had been able to start up the ship without a Human pilot was answered by the creatures that she had rescued from the Quarantine Facility, the Etecoons and Dachoras. She had already known that these creatures were intelligent, being that they had helped her before during the second mission to Zebes, but even Adam was at a loss for how they knew how to start the ship.

"Well, the good news is that we're safe." Samus said, leaning back in her chair. "But what the hell are we gonna tell the Federation?"

" _The truth_." The computer's voice replied. " _In the end, it is all we can do, Samus_. _There are sure to be tribunals and investigations where you and I are held accountable… but some of the leaders are sure to understand why we chose this course of action, as well as the danger to the galaxy that we barely averted. Some… or at least one of them has to understand_."

She never understood how Adam Malkovich could retain such a calm and overly optimistic outlook on life, while at the same time remaining an emotional blank-slate in the face of what the Federation could possibly do to both of them over this incident. Of course, she also didn't quite understand when he explained to her that the electronically recorded minds of leaders and scientists were often placed inside of computerized AI systems, or even how such a thing could be even possible.

But regardless of which parts she did and didn't understand, her strange and incredible reunion with Adam had probably saved the universe from whatever fate the rapidly multiplying SA-X's had in store. Dr. Dolan, on the other hand, seemed to be doomed to go down in history as a madman who unleashed monsters onto the crew of the station, even though without his many _illegal_ actions, Samus would have died on SR388, and who knows what would have happened onboard the station?

"Adam, do you still have a copy of the mission records?" Samus asked as the ship moved further away from the SR388 system. "Your logs, my suit's scan data, Richards research, all that?"

" _Yes, I do, Samus_." Adam's voice replied. " _I am required to keep a copy of all mission data in the case of corruption during transmission. Why_?"

It was a fair question, but the answer was not anywhere near as selfless as the computer's apparent faith in the Human soul's search for the truth. She planned on making a copy for herself, and if the Federation didn't listen to them… if the tribunals and investigations threatened to end badly in order to cover up the truth… then she would transmit everything onto public channels across the entire Galactic Federation.

"Richard was a hero, and I won't allow him to be vilified." She explained. "Nor will I allow you and me to be silenced or locked away in order to cover up what was happening on that station. I hope you're right, Adam… I hope that the leaders of the Federation are as open-minded and truth-seeking as you believe… but if they aren't… then, we'll try our luck with the people."

With that, their business was concluded in the SR388 system, or rather, what was left of it. So Samus took the controls, and set a course for Galactic Federation HQ. There was no point in waiting to be summoned… Adam wanted to show them the truth, so that was what she was going to do… whether or not they were ready for it.


End file.
